The other day we had a Summer party at the kids’ kindergarten and as part of it there was a cake sale that we contributed to. For this event, I made a version of a carrot cake that I have made several times in the past. The major change I did this time is the sheer size of the cake and the use of white chocolate and a little bit of lemon.

This is a super moist and flavorful cake! The use of apples in the recipe adds a great deal of moisture and sweetness to the cake. The cake is easy to make, but takes a bit of time to make. It can easily be made the day before and then have the icing added before serving it. You can also freeze the cake if you don’t put icing on it. The carrot cake is a definite crowd pleaser and I received great feedback at the cake sale.

Tip:
As it is a bit of fruit to grate, I prefer to use the grating attachment for my KitchenAid and grate the carrots and apples into a medium sized baking bowl. As I am lucky enough to have two machines, I use my Kenwood for the cake batter and the KitchenAid for the grating. As this is a large recipe, it is definitely a benefit to use a machine with a larger bowl and stronger engine for the batter. I also used the smaller machine for the icing.

In your stand mixer, whisk the eggs, oil and sugar until it turns a little pale in color.
Once the wet ingredients are mixed well, swap the attachment from a whisk to a K-hook. Sift all the dry ingredients into a bowl and add to the wet mixture. Mix until well incorporated.
Clean, peel and grate the carrots and apples into a large bowl. Pour the lemon oil over.
Chop up your chocolate. I used chocolate buttons and used them whole.
Add the carrots, apples and chocolate to the mixer and mix on low speed until everything is well mixed. It should be a wet and sticky.

Line a big form with baking paper, at least 30*25 cm. The smaller the form, the longer the cook as it will be very thick.
Set the oven to 175 degrees C.
Pour the batter into the form and cook for at least 60 minutes. I had to cook this cake for 1 hour and 20 minutes due to the thickness. Check the cake with a stick and also give is a small shake. If it is wobbly at the center, it needs to cook more. It should be moist in the center, but not wet. Once cooked enough, take it out and leave to cool in the form.

Icing:
750 grams icing sugar
400 grams butter at room temperature
500 grams cream cheese, i.e, Philadelphia, at room temperature
3 tbsp vanilla sugar
Juice of 1/2 lemon

In your stand mixer, start whisking the icing sugar and butter on low speed. Add the lemon juice to the mix and increase the speed once it all starts to incorporate. Whisk well until nice and fluffy. Add the cream cheese and vanilla sugar and mix well again. The mixture should be airy and light.

Once the cake has cooled, spread the icing on top. You will likely have a bit too much, so save the rest and use on cupcakes on as a filling for a spongecake. Don’t be stingy with the topping on this cake though, it deserves a good layer of icing. 🙂