A good carrot cake should be light, moist, and delicious. Walnuts are often used in these recipes because their flavor is so good with the carrot. Pecans would be another good choice. Serve this recipe sliced and buttered, alongside a cup of tea or coffee.

Some people who are new to making dessert recipes find that their attempts fall or sink in the center. This is disappointing but it can be avoided. If your cake collapses in the middle, this might be because you have beaten it too much, which incorporates an excess of air into the batter.

Perhaps you have not baked it for long enough or you did not let the oven heat up before putting the batter in. Other causes of sinking might be opening the oven door before at least three quarters of the cooking time have passed, not measuring the ingredients properly, not making sure the oven is allowed to preheat for at least half an hour or using the wrong size of baking pan.

Carrot Cake Step by Step

The following recipes makes a one pound dessert and you can decorate it however you like. Walnut halves are a popular option. Store any uneaten leftovers in an airtight container. Carrot cake is always a good standby to have if you have visitors because most people love it and will gladly accept a slice if it is offered to them.

This recipe is healthy because of the carrots in it and the following recipe also uses brown sugar and whole wheat flour, because they are nicer in such a recipe. The topping adds calories and fat and you might want to omit it if you are looking for something healthier.

What you will need:

1 carrot
3 fl oz groundnut oil
4 oz whole wheat flour
2 oz chopped walnuts
3 oz soft brown sugar
1 beaten egg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 oz sieved powdered sugar
1 oz softened unsalted butter
2 oz full fat cream cheese
8 walnut halves (optional)

How to make it:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Peel the carrot and grate it into a mixing bowl. Sift in the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and bicarbonate of soda. Add the groundnut oil, chopped walnuts, and egg and stir the batter well.

Transfer it to a greased one pound loaf tin, which also has a layer of greaseproof paper in the bottom. Bake the cake in the middle of the oven for an hour or until it has risen well. It should come two thirds of the way up the loaf tin and be starting to shrink away from the sides.

Let it cool in the tin on a wire rack, then turn it out and let it finish cooling. Beat the powdered sugar, butter, and cream cheese until the mixture is smooth, and then spread this over the top of the cake. Arrange the walnut halves on top.