Spiced Carrot Cake with Pistachios
2 cups (300g) self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
200g brown sugar
100g caster sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp mixed spice
½ tsp salt
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup (250g) Greek yoghurt
¾ cup rice bran oil
400g carrots, peeled & finely grated
150g pistachios, roughly chopped
Caramel Frosting
200g caster sugar
¼ cup water
¾ cup cream
500g ricotta
Preheat oven to 160°C Fan or 180°C Conventional.
Grease a deep 20cm cake tin and line the base with baking paper.
Place flour, baking powder, brown sugar, caster sugar, cinnamon, ginger, mixed spice and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine. In another bowl, add the eggs, vanilla, yoghurt and oil and whisk to combine. Pour into the flour mixture along with the carrots and mix together until just combined. Spoon into cake tin and bake for 1 hour, or until cooked in the centre when tested with a skewer. Cool in tin for 10 minutes then turn out onto wire cooling rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting, place sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until sugar has melted. Bring to a simmer and continue to cook without stirring for 3 minutes, or until it turns to a golden caramel. Remove from heat and whisk in cream until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Place ricotta in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add most of the cooled caramel, reserving 2 tablespoons for serving, and blend until combined.
To assemble, halve the cake horizontally so you have 2 even layers. Place the bottom layer onto serving plate. Spread with half the frosting and sprinkle over half the pistachios. Top with the other layer of cake and cover with the remaining frosting. Drizzle with reserved caramel and sprinkle with remaining pistachios.
Recipe, Food Styling and Photography by Karen McFarlane, foodlove.com.au
