Chai Spiced Carrot Cake

I feel the need to premise this post with a caveat - this is not my recipe! It's one of Jamie Oliver's gems from a recent issue of Jamie magazine. The reason I'm featuring it here (well one of the reasons!), is that it tastes AMAZING, so I just had to share it with you all. Secondly... my Instagram post of my cake was featured in the most recent issue of Jamie magazine, cue major excitement and flinging said magazine in the face of anyone and everyone to show them! Eeeeee!

You can find the link to the original recipe here. You can follow my Instagram account here. 

Ingredients:-

250ml vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing

4 large carrots

1 large lemon

100g currants or sultanas

100g pecans

280g plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground cardamom

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon ground anise

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

4 tablespoons candied ginger in syrup

1 black tea bag (I used Tea Pigs Chai tea)

2 large free-range eggs

200g caster sugar

200g light brown sugar

30g flaked coconut

For the cream cheese buttercream:-

200g unsalted butter (at room temperature)

200g cream cheese

15g icing sugar

Method:-

Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Grease a 30 x 20cm traybake tin with veg oil and line with baking paper. 

Peel and grate the carrots (praise the lord for food processors with grater attachments!) and lemon zest into a large bowl, mix in the currants or sultanas, then roughly chop and add the pecans, then set aside. 

In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, ½ a teaspoon of sea salt, and the spices, Dice and add the ginger, then add the leaves from the tea bag and mix well. 

Add the eggs, both sugars and the veg oil to a mixing jug, then pour the mixture over the carrots, mixing to combine. Add the dry ingredients and mix briefly or until just combined. 

Pour the batter into your pan and bake in the oven for 55 minutes to 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack to cool completely. 

For the buttercream, place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until creamy, about 5 minutes. 

Add the cream cheese and beat until just combined. Next, add the icing sugar and beat again until smooth (don’t over-mix it as your icing will be runny.) Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes, then spoon the buttercream over the cake and spread out evenly. 

Place the coconut into a dry frying pan over a medium heat and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until lightly toasted, tossing occasionally. Scatter it over the iced cake, then serve.

This makes a really delicious, moist cake. Even people who were not massive carrot cake lovers said that they enjoyed this. The spices really bring everything together, and it just - works!