Zucchini and carrot cake

Carrot cake recipe

Carrot cake is one of the most loved cake recipes in the world for its flavour, simplicity and all-round comfort factor. Its moist crumb combined with spices, grated carrot and crunchy nuts is the perfect slice for afternoon tea, and with a luscious cream cheese frosting, we won’t blame you for wanting an extra serve. While its origins are debated (theories are spread out far and wide, from America to medieval Europe, wartime England and Persian roots), one thing is widely agreed on: it’s a sweet treat with universal appeal. This recipe adds grated zucchini into the mix and it’s topped with extra walnuts for a savoury crunch. Read on for what’s set to be your best carrot cake recipe yet.

Ingredients for carrot cake

For a moist carrot cake recipe, you’ll need 1 cup of coarsely grated carrot and 1 cup of coarsely grated zucchini. The rest of your wet ingredients are 4 lightly whisked eggs and 1 cup (250ml) vegetable or canola oil. You’ll also need 2 cups (300g) self-raising flour, 1½ cups (330g) brown sugar (using brown sugar will give you richer sweetness than if you were to use white sugar), ½ cup (55g) coarsely chopped walnuts (you could also use pecans), 2 tsp ground cinnamon and ½ tsp ground nutmeg will give your carrot cake its signature warm spiced flavour. A cream cheese icing for carrot cake is a must, and for this you’ll need 250g of room temperature cream cheese, 50g softened butter and 1 cup (160g) icing sugar mixture and the juice of 1 lemon to give it a tangy hit. And if you’re wondering what to use as decorations for a carrot cake, go with extra walnuts, and some lemon zest, to compliment the citrus flavour in the icing.

How to make an easy carrot cake

An easy carrot cake recipe is just that - super simple to make. First, preheat your oven to 180°C and grease the base and sides of a 10cm x 22cm loaf pan. Line the pan with baking paper, allowing the side to overhang (this will make it easier to remove from the pan when the cake is baked and ready to cool).

Then combine the flour, brown sugar, grated zucchini and carrot, walnut, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bow. Whisk the oil and the egg in a small bowl and add this mixture to the flour mixture. Stir to combine then pour the mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 1 hour. The easiest way to find out if the cake is done cooking is by inserting a skewer in the centre. Remove the skewer and if it comes out clean, it means the cake is cooked through in the middle and it’s done. Set the cake aside in the pan for 5 minutes before removing it from the pan and transferring it on a wire rack to cool completely.

How to make the icing and serve up your best carrot cake

Beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until pale and creamy. Then add the icing sugar and lemon juice and beat the mixture until it’s well combined. When you’re ready to serve, place the cake on a serving plate and top with the cream cheese icing. Sprinkle the lemon zest and extra walnuts to serve.

Now get cooking

There are more variations of this cafe favourite. Try our Persian-style carrot cake – topped with Turkish delight, orange zest, pistachio and pomegranate, it’s a winner. For a cake everyone can enjoy, whip up our gluten-free carrot cake. And this gluten-free raw carrot cake is a no-bake dessert to serve this weekend. The beauty of carrot cake’s flavours also work a treat in these wholesome carrot cake pancakes.