Best Way to use Carrots, Yes I'm talking about Carrot Cake!

There are three different cakes I hold near and dear to my hear and carrot cake is one of those. And not to brag, but I do think this is one of the best recipes for carrot cake out there. What makes it that little bit more decadent you may ask, well its the banana I use in the recipe. I also just like the texture this cake has with big chunks of pecan nuts riddling the cake. Then comes the sweet tangy cream cheese frosting, not to much and not to little but just the right amount. Finished of with some fresh fruits and a sprinkle of pecan nuts. It's truly in my opinion everything you could want in a cake, but then again that's just me! 

Ingredients 

• 187.5 ml oil 
• 2 eggs
• 187.5 ml caster sugar
• 100ml pecan nuts (you can really use any nut you prefer, still want to try it out with pistachios)
• 375 ml plain flour
• 5ml vanilla extract
• 5ml baking powder
• 5ml bicarbonate of soda
• 2ml salt
• 2ml mixed spices
• 5ml cinnamon
• 2ml nutmeg
• 125ml banana 
• 250 ml fine grated carrots 

Method : preheat oven to 160C/320F

1. Place the oil, eggs, vanilla and eggs into mixing bowl and mix well till you have a thick light consistency.
2. Now add in all of your dry ingredients( includes nuts) which you need to sift at least once.
3. Mix till till everything is well incorporated
4. Now you can add in your carrots and bananas, give it another good mix 
5. Grease your cake pan with silicon paper on the bottom, then place into your preheated oven of 160C/320F for 30-35 minutes, it should have a nice golden top. 
6.  Once out of the oven allow to cool and then place into fridge while you prepare your frosting 

Ingredients for Frosting 

• 230 g sugar 
• 90g water 
• 5ml lemon juice 
• 150g egg whites 
• 120g caster sugar 
• 250g soft butter 
• 250g cream cheese (unsalted) 
• 500g white chocolate 
• zest of one orange 

Method 

1. Place the large amount of sugar, water and lemon juice into a pot and bring to the boil, continue to boil till the syrup is at 114-116C/237.5-240.8F ( this is known as soft ball stage) 
2. Place your white chocolate over a bain marie to melt, water should not be boiling to rapidly but just be simmering to create steam. ( if its too hot the chocolate can burn and you wont be able to use it! Also don't move it around too much, just stir every now and then) 
3. While waiting for your stock syrup to reach soft ball stage whip up your egg whites, when you reach medium peak stage start to add in the smaller amount of sugar ( it must be caster sugar) 1 tsp at a time while whisking till you reach stiff peak stage. 
4. Once syrup is at soft ball stage, start to pour it in at a slow steady rate into your mixing bowl with the meringues while mixing at the same time. End result should be a glossy meringue with stiff peaks. ( this is known as a boiled meringue or Italian Meringue) 
5. Remove the meringue from the mixing bowl and place soft butter and zest into bowl and mix till pale in colour. 
6. Now add you cream cheese and  pour your melted chocolate into the bowl with the butter and whisk well. ( your chocolate should not be straight of f the bain marie into the butter, it should have been off for at least 1 minute) 
7. Now 1/3 at a time fold in your Italian Meringue to create the final product. 
8. Allow to rest in the fridge for 5 minutes then your ready to frost your cake! 

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