Carrot Cake with Lime Mascarpone Icing

 

It was my mom's birthday this past weekend, and I wanted to bake her a cake. And, it being fall, I've had a craving for a spicy, hearty carrot cake with mile-high icing on top. Luckily, I had just the right amount of mascarpone and cream cheese left over from making nectarine & mascarpone tarts, so it worked out perfectly. There's something about the combination of warm spices, earthy carrots, and cool, silky cream cheese icing that's so comforting. It's one of the best parts of fall.

This recipe (from your favourite Essex boy Jamie Oliver) is designed to result in a suuuper moist cake. It's bursting with flavour, too - the use of citrus fruits might seem strange, but it really adds another dimension to an otherwise traditional dessert. The British have invented a great word that pretty much sums up this cake: moreish. You want some, and then you want some more. And then when no one's looking, maybe a little more.

Carrot Cake with Lime Mascarpone Icing
From Cook With Jamie by Jamie Oliver

Cake
250g unsalted butter, softened
250g light brown sugar
5 eggs, separated
1 orange, zest and juice
170g self-raising flour, sifted
1 heaped tsp baking powder
100g ground almonds
100g walnuts, roughly chopped (plus an extra handful for the top of the cake)
1 heaped tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
250g carrots, grated
pinch of salt

Icing
100g mascarpone cheese, room temperature
200g full-fat cream cheese, room temperature
85g icing sugar, sifted
2 limes, zest and juice

Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease and line a 9-inch springform pan or 8-inch square cake tin with parchment paper. In a large bowl or food processor, beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each. Beat in the orange zest and juice.
In a medium bowl, combine the sifted flour, baking powder, ground almonds, walnuts, spices and grated carrot. Mix the dry ingredients into the butter/sugar mixture until only just combined (make sure all the flour is incorporated, but don't overmix).
In a seperate, clean bowl, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form; gently fold into the cake batter. Scrape the batter into your pan and bake for 45-50 minutes, until golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove it from its tin and leave on a rack to cool completely before icing.

To make the icing, beat all the ingredients together until smooth. Spread over the cake (as you can probably tell, I used all of it), and scatter chopped walnuts on top. Store the cake in the fridge until you're ready to serve it.

Full disclosure, I've eaten this cake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. No regrets.