Mother’s Day Carrot Cake

Our first Mother's Day recipe comes from Joanne from BabyLovesShopping  

This is the first time I have ever written anything for a blog and with Mother’s Day approaching on the 14th of March, I would like to share my Mother’s Day Carrot Cake recipe in memory of my mother. The cake in the picture is the cake I made for my Mum last year.

This recipe has never failed me and trust me I am no Delia and my poor family have had to suffer many bad cakes! But with this Carrot Cake recipe I have had friends request that I make this cake for their special occasions and every time someone new tries it I always get requests for the recipe. This recipe does not use any nuts but you can substitute the raisins for chopped walnuts if you like. The cake in the picture is made using all the mix in one 10 inch ring tin. The mix will also make two 8 inch round tins with the frosting enough to sandwich the two cakes together and frost the top.

Cake Ingredients
250ml Sunflower Oil
175g Caster Sugar
3 Eggs
175g Plain Flour
7.5ml Baking Powder
7.5ml Bicarbonate of Soda
3ml Salt7.5ml Ground Cinnamon
1ml Grated Nutmeg
1.5ml Ground Ginger
115g Raisins
2 Large Carrots grated (about 225g)
5ml Vanilla Essence
30ml Soured Cream

Decoration Ingredients
175g Mascarpone
25g Butte
r225g Icing Sugar
5 Fresh Roses
Orange & Lemon Jelly Slices
Silver Dragees

1. Preheat Oven to 180 degrees C
2. Grease and line with flour a 10 inch Ring Tin
3. Using a food mixer beat the Sunflower Oil & Sugar together
4. Add the eggs one at a time and beat thoroughly
5. In another bowl sift the Flour, Baking Soda, Bicarbonate of Soda, Salt, Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Ginger together
6. Add the dry ingredients to your Oil, Sugar & Egg mixture and mix by hand
7. Fold in the Raisins and Carrots and then stir in the Vanilla Essence and Soured Cream.
8. Place mixture in the ring tin and bake for approx 1 hour (or until risen and a knife inserted comes out clean)
9. Leave to cool and then gently take out of the tin and place on your serving plate
10. To make the frosting mix the Mascarpone, Butter and Icing Sugar in a bowl. I do this by hand first otherwise the Icing Sugar goes everywhere and then transfer to the food mixer to mix until smooth.
11. Spread the frosting all over the cake including the sides.
12. Decorate the cake with the Orange & Lemon Jelly Slices and Silver Dragees.
13. Just before serving, cut the Roses so they are just the right length to sit in whole in the middle of the cake.
14. Serve and watch your Mother’s face light up.