Carrot Cake

First, some good news- my father bought a brand new, and very very amazing camera- Nikon D90. let me tell you- this is one hell of a camera! This camera is so good that I found myself taking pictures of (almost) everything that was around me (including a billion of my poor cat, bless him). So, I don`t think that there is any difference, but the picture above was taken with the new camera.

Now, lets focus on the reason we are here for- the cake. I truly love this cake, and I have managed to make it three times since the beginning of the month, which is quite an unusual thing.

I only make a cake that often (well the term “often” is relative, at least for me, since there`s not a lot of demand here…) when it is really good. I have a few signs when a cake is going to be a favorite (please don`t laugh, this is the honest truth!):

1. I eat at least four slices in about an hour.
2. After about tow hours, there is about 1/4 cake left.
3. The cake doesn’t last for more than a day and a half.

This cake certainly replied to all of the above. The cake is note a fancy one, but it is so good, and has such a nice texture, that it is almost the perfect cake to accompany a nice cup of coffee. Now, I know that most of you are used to making carrot cakes with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting (And that`s not a bad thing at all!) but, this cake is so good as it is, that you really don’t need frosting.

Carrot Cake/ slightly adapted from Angela Nilsen, Good Food magazine September 2008 (makes 20 cm. cake or one cake in a 30 cm. bread tin)

115 gr. all purpose flour

115 gr. plain wholemeal flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 rounded teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 eggs

140 gr. light brown sugar

125 ml. canola oil

2 tablespoons milk or water

280 gr. finely grated carrots (about 375-400 gr. before peeling)

140 gr. raisins

100 gr. pecan, corasly chopped

Preheat oven to 160 degrees C. with fan. lightly oil and line the base of a deep 20 cm. square cake tin (or 30 cm. long bread tin).

Mix the flours with the baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.

Separate one of the eggs. put the white in a mixer bowl and the yolk in another large bowl. Break the remaining whole egg in with the yolk, then add the sugar. whisk together for 1-2 minutes until thick and foamy. Slowly pour in the oil and continue to whisk on a low speed until well mixed. Add the milk or water and whisk until combined. Add the flour mix, half at a time, and gently stir it into the egg mixture with a rubber spatula or big spoon. The mix will be quite stiff.

Put a small pinch of baking powder with the egg whites and mix until soft peaks.

Fold the carrots into the egg and flour mixture, add the raisins and pecans. Gently fold in the whisked egg whites, then pour into the tin. Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then pull from the tin and transfer to a wire rack.

Keep covered in room temperature up to 3 days.