I am a fan of carrot cake. It is a perfect Easter bake: just what the Easter bunny needs to fuel a hop around the world. The very first cookbook I wrote, in 2011, Make Bake Love, has one of my favourite carrot cake recipes. It is very traditional, but I add pineapple, which becomes caramelised and has just enough sharp sweetness that is so good with a cream cheese topping.
I always like to look to other countries and cultures for their version of such cakes. That’s how I came across bolo de cenoura. It’s a Brazilian carrot cake with a luscious chocolate brigadero topping. It is incredibly easy to make and creates a moist, perfect cake every time. The carrots, eggs and oil are blitzed together in a high-speed food processor to create a smooth mix, then the flour and sugar are folded through. It is a lovely cake for children to help make.
It has a lovely subtle sweetness from the carrot and is so tasty. I’ve baked it the traditional way so many times but wanted to fuse both recipes here, so I added cinnamon and a little nutmeg, as well as cream-cheese frosting.
There are many variations of the classic cream-cheese frosting for a carrot cake. I find no need for icing sugar and butter to get involved, which is not something a baker would often say about a cake. I find rippling some pure Irish honey through cold cream cheese creates the perfect topping and isn’t too sweet.
This time of year is perfect for floaty, billowy desserts such as meringues and pavlovas, but a traybake-style carrot cake, that can be easily sliced, is ideal for enjoying with coffee when visitors call, or to bring as a gift if someone else is hosting dinner on Easter Sunday.
Feel free to decorate this with toasted walnuts or pecans, little chocolate carrots or carrot shavings. I love edible spring flowers at this time of year. Primroses are so pretty and the perfect Easter decoration. Last year’s dried rose petals, lavender buds or calendula petals can make home-made natural sprinkles. Growing edible flowers is a lovely addition to the garden and your kitchen too. Scattering petals in salads adds flavour and colour. However you choose to decorate it, this is a sweet delicious treat, jam packed with carrots and super easy to bake over the Easter break.
Recipe: Brazilian carrot cake
Lilly’s kitchen tips
- I usually grow edible flowers between vegetables. Rows of calendula make great companion plants to beans, broccoli and so many other crops. They lure aphids away and attract beneficial insects such as ladybirds that prey on aphids. Borage is another favourite that produces the most beautiful blue flowers and the bees love them.
- If you want to add the traditional textures to this carrot cake, fold in some toasted walnuts and a handful of sultanas.
- This cake freezes well without the icing and is a nice addition to lunchboxes.
