Great Carrot Cake recipes please - and Q about cream cheese when preggie :)

[Salsa]

I love carrot cake.
We have lots of carrots.
I asked DH to make us a carrot cake and he has sort of agreed, but only if he can have cream cheese on it.
Am I allowed cream cheese icing when pregnant?

Anyway, I would love a real nice rich carrot cake recipe that uses at least 2 carrots. (aside from the carrots we have I love carrot cake that is carroty)
And, directions on what to top the cake with later - cream cheese icing if preggie woman allowed it, otherwise other suggestions - is lemon icing used on carrot cake?

[Kristin27]

Hi Salsa, cream cheese is fine when you are pg.

Here is the Donna Hay carrot cake recipie I use. I don't add the sultanas cause I just don't like them! I also sometimes add a grated zuchinni, sounds odd but makes the cake really moist and you can't taste it (just make sure you squeeze out the juice of the grated zuchinni before adding it to the mixture).

Ingredients
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bi-carb soda (baking soda)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
2 1/2 cups grated carrot
1/2 cup chopped pecans (I also use walnuts)
1/2 cup sultanas

Method
Preheat oven to 180 celsius
Place sugar and oil in bowl of electrc mixer and beat for 3 mins.
Add eggs gradually and beat well
Sift flour, baking powder, bi-carb, cinnamon and ginger over the sugar mixture.
Add carrot, pecans and sultanas and mix until just combined.
Pour into greased 22cm round tin lined with nonstick baking paper
Bake for 55 -60 mins. Spread with cream cheese frosting.

I use this frosting recipie
250g softened cream cheese at room temp
1/3 cup sifted icing suger
1 1/2 Tabs lemon juice
Process until smooth, then spread over cake.

Enjoy, I'm hungry now!

[Salsa]

Blahhh - I dont like sultanas or raisons either!
DH wimped out, so I am gonna make this tommorrow, thanks

[Nelle]

Do you think I could make this mixture tonight and store it in the fridge overnight and bake it tomorrow morning? Would that work, or be a disaster?

[Rouge]

It won't be a disaster, it should be fine, it might be a little denser, but it should still work. However just looking at the recipe she is using a lot of raising agents, which suggests to me the cake is not supposed to be too dense so maybe it wouldn't be a good idea... I guess you could try it and see

[Oorki Galoorki]

i made this last week and it was awesome!!!!!

Ingredients (serves 10)
2 cups (300g) self-raising flour
1 1/2 cups (225g) plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 cups (440g) caster sugar
3 1/2 cups coarsely grated carrot
100g walnuts, roughly chopped
1 1/4 cups (310ml) vegetable oil
5 eggs, lightly beaten
300g sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
Cream cheese frosting
500g cream cheese, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 1/3 cups (500g) icing sugar

Method
Preheat oven to 180?C. Grease and line a 25cm round cake pan with baking paper.
Sift flours, soda and spices into a large bowl. Add caster sugar, grated carrot and walnuts and stir to combine.
In a separate bowl, whisk oil, eggs, sour cream and vanilla until smooth.
Add to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Pour into pan, smoothing top with a spatula. Bake in the oven for 2 hours or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Stand for 20 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.
For frosting, beat cream cheese using electric beaters until smooth. Add vanilla and beat well. Gradually add icing sugar, beating until smooth and creamy.
Split cooled cake into 2 layers. Spread bottom layer with half the frosting. Add top, then spread with remaining frosting.

[Nelle]

Oh good DouDou, because I ended up just going to bed.

[Mak]

Doudou - I have made same recipe and it was AMAZING! I got so many compliments and it looked fab - was so moist and yumo!!!

[Nelle]

Ah crud I don't have sour cream. Is there anything you can substitute for sour cream?