Fruit and Vegetable illustration
carrot cake being served

Carrot cake with 5 ingredients

Carrot cake often seem complicated so we decided to show how easy and tasty it can be using only 5 ingredients. We have included optional extras to add in to up the flavour and bring in more complexity to this wonderful cake

Takes: 55mins | Makes: 12 Servings | Difficulty: Medium

Carrot cake can often seem like a traditional cake but we’re always amazed at how popular it is, it is still the second most popular cake in our cafes. The goal of this 5 ingredient cake series is to show how accessible and easy baking can be. Carrot cake is a great way to get someone to eat some veg, carrots are the second sweetest of all veg, falling behind only beetroot. They bring a nice sweetness, colour and earthiness to this cake. If you can we would recommend you adding in the raisin, walnuts and spices for a more traditional or whole flavoured cake.

carrot cake being sliced

FAQ – frequently asked questions

Can I make this cake gluten free?

Yes indeed, just replace the self raising flour with gluten free self raising flour.

What do i do if i cant find self raising flour?

You can simply use 400g of plain white flour in place of the self raising flour and add in 4 tsp of baking powder

Can i freeze this dish?

Yes, you can freeze the sponges separately and also freeze the icing separate and then once thawed assemble the cake

How am I best storing this?

Store it in a sealed contained in the fridge.

What is neutral tasting oil?

It is vegetable oil such as sunflower oil or canola or ground nut oil that does not have a strong flavour. Generally the cheaper oils will have a very neutral taste to them.

How long does this carrot cake last for

It will last for 4-5 days when stored in an airtight container.

Can i use currants instead of raisins?

Yes you can indeed, and also you could use different nuts or even seeds in place of the walnuts for a less traditional version but equally as tasty!

Serving suggestions for this Carrot cake?

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Carrot cake with 5 ingredients


This is a wonderful simplified version of the classic – this really tastes delicious! To keep it within the 5 ingredients we had to omit the walnuts, raisins and spices that would traditionally be in a carrot cake – we left these down below for you to add if you have them they just give it more character and texture as well as complexity

Takes

Serves 12

Ingredients
 

  • Ingredients;
  • 400 g self raising flour
  • 300 g icing/ powdered sugar
  • 250 ml neutral tasting Oil
  • 200 g grated carrot
  • 150 ml water
  • CREAM CHEESE ICING
  • 450 g vegan Cream cheese for icing
  • 150 g icing sugar
  • Optional extras to break out of the 5 ingredients:
  • 100 g raisins
  • 100 g chopped walnuts
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp allspice

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 180 degrees fan
  • Grease and line 2 x 20cm (or 8 inch) springform cake tins with baking parchment on the base and sides. We used coconut oil the grease the tins so that the baking parchment stuck.
  • In a large mixing bowl, sieve in the self raising flour and icing sugar, add the grated carrot then mix them together. Make a well in the centre. (if you were to add the optional extras you would add them to the dry ingredients here)
  • Measure the oil and water and add to the bowl with the flour and sugar ingredients.
  • Mix together until they just come together using a spatula or a hand mixer, being careful not to over mix.
  • Split the mixture between the two cake tins and place the preheated oven for 40 minutes rotating half-way through cooking time to ensure they cook evenly. Remove cakes from the oven and set aside, on a rack to cool fully. Check if cooked by placing a skewer in the centre, it should come out clean, if the skewer still has a few crumbs on it just pop the cakes back in the oven and cook a little longer until the skewer comes out dry.
  • * While the cakes are baking, time to make your frosting (you can leave the cream cheese frosting in the fridge to chill until the cakes are baked and cooled).
  • Add the vegan cream cheese to a bowl and use a fork to mash and to soften so it's easier to mix in the icing sugar. Sift in the icing sugar using a sieve so there are no lumps, use a whisk, and whisk the vegan cream cheese and icing sugar until smooth (you may have to stop once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl to incorporate all the icing sugar.
  • When your two cakes are fully cooled; To assemble the carrot cake, choose the base cake and add half the cream cheese frosting layer to the top of your base cake, gently spreading evenly from the centre, not all the way to the edge, leaving half an inch. Gently place the second cake on top, pressing it down lightly so the filling just comes to the edge. Then add your top layer of frosting to the top of the cake, again working your way from the centre, spreading the frosting to the edge. Add any suggested decoration and serve!
  • Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 646kcalCarbohydrates: 75gProtein: 8gFat: 38gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 16gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gSodium: 161mgPotassium: 195mgFiber: 5gSugar: 39gVitamin A: 2788IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 49mgIron: 1mg

Video

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4 responses to “Carrot cake with 5 ingredients”

  1. Stephen says:

    5 stars
    This is so easy to make and is a really good solid recipe!

  2. Jody says:

    5 stars
    Love this one!

  3. Dee says:

    Where do you get vegan cream cheese guys?

  4. Dawn says:

    My cream cheese mixture came out runny……any idea why ?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




4 responses to “Carrot cake with 5 ingredients”

  1. Stephen says:

    5 stars
    This is so easy to make and is a really good solid recipe!

  2. Jody says:

    5 stars
    Love this one!

  3. Dee says:

    Where do you get vegan cream cheese guys?

  4. Dawn says:

    My cream cheese mixture came out runny……any idea why ?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




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