Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Equipment: Two 20cm round cake tins, each at least 4cm deep, fitting side by side on one oven shelf; Baking parchment, two mixing bowls, scales, measuring spoons, fine approximately 2mm grater, peeler, whisk and flexible spatula; Wire cooling racks, skewer, electric hand mixer and serving plate. Allow about 15 minutes for setup, or longer if needed. Switch on the oven at the start to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4, with a shelf in the centre; allow about 25 minutes for preheating while preparing and mixing. Use the reserved 5ml sunflower oil to grease two 20cm round cake tins at least 4cm deep, then line their bases with baking parchment. Wash, peel and trim the carrots, weigh 300g prepared, then grate finely through approximately 2mm holes; do not squeeze out the juice. Weigh the remaining ingredients. Keep the cream cheese refrigerated.

Allow about 10 minutes. Whisk the plain flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and salt together in one bowl. In another, break up any lumps in the brown sugar, then whisk it with all three eggs, the remaining 180ml oil and vanilla extract until evenly mixed. Fold in the grated carrots, then fold in the dry mixture just until no dry flour remains; do not beat it. Divide evenly between the lined tins and level the tops. Do not taste the raw batter. The tins should be no more than about two-thirds full; do not overfill them. Before loading, check that the oven has reached the stated temperature using its ready indicator or an oven thermometer. If it has not, keep the filled tins out and wait until it is ready, adding the actual extra wait to the total.

Bake both tins side by side on the same shelf, with space around them, for about 30–35 minutes. At 30 minutes, check that the tops spring back lightly and a skewer inserted in each centre comes out without wet batter. If necessary, continue baking until both cakes pass those checks, checking at 5-minute intervals. The timing plan allows 35 minutes, but doneness takes priority.

Set the tins on a heatproof rack and leave the cakes in them for 15 minutes so the crumb firms enough to handle. Loosen the edges carefully, turn out, peel off the base paper and put the cakes right way up on wire racks.

Allow about 90 minutes on the racks, or longer until the centres and undersides feel completely cool. Do not ice a warm cake: the filling can melt and slide. At the start of rack cooling, cut the 75g butter into roughly 1cm cubes and leave in a bowl away from direct heat. Allow about 60 minutes for softening within the rack-cooling stage, until it yields readily to gentle pressure but is not melted or oily. Keep the cream cheese refrigerated. If the butter is still firm when the cakes are cool, wait until it is workable and add that extra wait; icing starts only when both the cakes and butter are ready.

Only once both cakes are completely cool and the butter is workable, allow about 6 minutes for making the icing and reserve about 4 minutes for assembly or separate-layer portioning after chilling and reassessment: the original 10-minute icing work allowance is split around the required wait. These are estimates; add all actual extra work if needed. Beat the softened butter until smooth, then gradually beat in the sifted icing sugar. Scrape down the bowl and beat briefly until the paste is smooth, with no butter lumps. Pour away any loose liquid from the cream-cheese tub before weighing 180g. Add the cold cream cheese in two additions, mixing briefly on the lowest speed, scraping the bowl and finishing with a spatula just until smooth; do not keep beating to make it fluffier. For every route, even if the icing already holds soft ridges, refrigerate the bowl of icing for 20 minutes, keeping the cakes separate. Then allow 2 minutes to reassess its temperature and consistency, even if it appeared stable before chilling. Before filling, it must be cold, thick and spreadable, hold soft ridges from the spatula and not flow across the bowl. If it is not yet cold, keep it refrigerated and check at 10-minute intervals until cold, adding the actual extra chilling and checking time. Chilling may firm warm butter but cannot reliably repair an overmixed or watery icing. Only after the required chill and reassessment, use the reserved approximately 4 minutes to finish. If the cold icing holds soft ridges without flowing, place one layer flat-side up on a serving plate, spread half the icing over it, then add the second layer and spread the rest across the top, leaving the sides bare. If it remains loose when cold, keep the layers separate, cut each into 6 portions and spoon the cold icing over individual portions at serving instead of sandwiching; use half the icing for each layer. Add all actual assembly or portioning time beyond the reserved allowance, with no fixed cap. Do not add liquid or promise that further chilling will fix it. Serve as 12 portions and refrigerate the icing and iced cake whenever not serving immediately. Keep the iced cake covered in the fridge and follow the cream-cheese label’s storage and use-by instructions. No tested shelf life is claimed for this cake.