Carrot cake with lemon cream cheese frosting

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 270 g flour
• 110 g hazelnuts, whole
• 340 g carrot(s), grated
• ½ apple, grated
• 270 g sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• 2 pinches of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract, natural
• 1 ½ tsp cinnamon powder
• 240 ml sunflower oil
• 4 m.-sized eggs
• 150 g double cream cheese
• 100 g butter, soft
• 150 g powdered sugar, sifted
• 100 ml cream
• 1 m.-sized lemon(s), grated peel
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp vanilla extract, natural

Instructions

Working time approx. 40 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 50 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes

The American carrot cake with typical cream cheese frosting. Outrageously delicious!

First, preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Then, roast the whole nuts in a pan and let them cool. In the meantime, peel and grate the carrots and half an apple. Whether finely or coarsely is a matter of taste. I prefer half and half. Next, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl. In a second bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla extract until frothy. Gradually add the sugar, then the oil, and whisk for a few minutes to incorporate the air. Set aside. Finely grind the cooled hazelnuts in a food processor. When I didn’t have a food processor, I simply put the hazelnuts in a plastic bag and mashed them with a heavy object until they were fairly finely ground. This also works wonderfully. Then, gradually combine the flour mixture with the egg mixture and stir until a smooth batter forms. Finally, fold the grated carrots, apple, and ground nuts into the batter with a spoon. Bake the batter in a greased and floured round cake pan at 175°C for about 50 minutes. To check if the carrot cake is done, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If there are no batter residue left on the toothpick, the cake is done baking. Allow the carrot cake to cool completely. For the frosting, first wash the lemon with hot water, dry it, and finely grate only the yellow zest. Then cut the lemon in half and squeeze out about 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice. Set aside. In a bowl, beat the cream cheese with a hand mixer. Add the softened butter and mix for a few minutes until smooth. Add the vanilla extract, lemon zest and juice, and half of the sifted powdered sugar. Start by mixing on low speed, then mix on high speed for a few minutes to incorporate air into the mixture. Repeat the process with the second half of the powdered sugar. Set aside. In a second bowl, whip the cream until very stiff peaks form. Then carefully fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture. The frosting should now have a fluffy, spreadable consistency that almost holds its shape. Spread the Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting over the cooled carrot cake and decorate as desired.