skills.
CARROT CAKE
Best of the best.
RECIPE AND FOOD STYLING POLLYANNA COUPLAND
PHOTOGRAPHS INDIA WHILEY-MORTON
No shortcuts. No cheat ingredients. Our best of the best series takes the view that if something’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right. Each month we take a deep-dive into a classic, delving into the processes and analysing why it tastes so good, then we give you our ultimate recipe. This month: Pollyanna Coupland perfects a perennial favourite
Confession: I’m not a huge cake fan. I don’t actively dislike sweet things, but I’d always choose a sausage roll or something savoury over a cake. Carrot cake is the exception. The symphony of warming spices, a sponge spiked with crunchy, earthy nuts and plump, juicy raisins with a zesty cream cheese frosting provides a perfect balance that isn’t cloyingly sweet, unlike some of the buttercream-heavy bakes out there.
And because it’s the only cake I tend to bake, I’ve made it countless times for friends and special occasions – which is why I’m fully confident in my ultimate recipe. Here’s what makes it a 10/10.
PREP YOUR CARROTS RIGHT
Being relatively high in natural sugars, carrots are an ideal candidate for sweet dishes (the Indian/Pakistani dessert gajar ka halwa, in which carrots are stewed down slowly in milk with sultanas, cinnamon and nuts, is a good example). Not only does the vegetable provide sweetness but it also contributes to the famously moist, dense texture of the cake.