Carmel’s carrot cake
As featured in the Over60 cookbook, here Gabrielle Foster shares her recipe for Carmel’s carrot cake.
"The recipe has featured at our family gatherings for some 40 years now, and is shamelessly calorific. Known in the family as Carmel’s carrot cake, it came to us via an old family friend who told us that it had come into her family via an outback station cook which goes some way, I guess, to explaining its very generous size and the fact that the original recipe suggests that it be cooked in a baking dish. I love a recipe with provenance! Now embraced by a new generation of cooks led by my daughter-in-law, Katie, the cake has featured in her sister’s London cafe and more recently at another sister’s wedding. For a recent occasion, to put two carrot-averse kids 'off the scent' so to speak, I renamed the cake 'Gaby’s Golden Cake'!" – Gabrielle Foster
To discover 174 more recipes from the Over60 cookbook and the lovely stories behind where they came from, why not order your very own copy of The Way Mum Made It today.
Serves: 8–10
Ingredients:
- 2 cups caster sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1½ cups light olive oil
- 2 cups plain flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
- pinch of salt
- 3 cups grated carrot
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
Icing
- 375 g icing sugar
- 150 g unsalted butter, chopped
- 250 g cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 180°C. Lightly grease a 24 cm x 40 cm loose-based cake tin.
- Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar and eggs until creamy. Gradually add the oil while mixing. Fold in the flour sifted with the cinnamon, bicarbonate of soda and salt. Mix through the carrot and walnuts.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin.
- To make the icing, use an electric mixer to beat all the ingredients until well combined.
- Once the cake is cool, spread with the icing and then refrigerate until ready to serve.
Note: This cake is best made a couple of days in advance to allow the flavours to develop, and will keep in the refrigerator for 7–10 days.