Who doesn’t love a slice of carrot cake? We found this speedy demonstration of how to make and decorate a carrot cake from the Hummingbird Bakery. You can of course decorate it how you like, and while it’s available at the their bakeries, why not give this one whirl at home?
Watch The Video
They say that, smothered in cream cheese frosting, this sweetly spiced, walnut-studded wonder sponge is one of their customer favourites. The recipe for carrot cake is hugely popular. Scroll down for the recipe.
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Carrot Cake Recipe
by The Hummingbird Bakery
Ingredients:
300 g soft light brown sugar
3 eggs
300 ml sunflower oil
300 g plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus extra to decorate
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
300 g carrots, grated
100 g shelled walnuts, chopped, plus 75 g extra, chopped and whole, to decorate
1 quantity Cream Cheese Frosting (Read on for details)
Cream Cheese Frosting
For the method and cream cheese frosting we used the version from Good To Know:
- 300g icing sugar, sifted
- 50g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 125g cream cheese, cold
Beat the icing sugar and butter together in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed.
Add the cream cheese in one go and beat until it is completely incorporated. Turn the mixer up to medium-high speed. Continue beating until the frosting is light and fluffy, at least 5 mins. Spoon or pipe the cream cheese frosting on top of a cold cake(s).
More about Hummingbird Bakery (external link).
*New! Check this post with The Hummingbird Bakery’s video for Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Roulade
The Origins Of Carrot Cake
Recipes for carrot cake date back to the 1500s with carrot puddings eaten by Europeans in the Middle Ages. They contained ingredients including cream, eggs, raisins, sweetener (dates and sugar), spices (clove and mace), scraped carrot, and breadcrumbs (in place of flour). It became popular in European cookbooks of the 1800s and the popularity in the UK came about because of rationing during the World War II. (Source: Wikipedia Carrot Cake)
About Hummingbird Bakery
The Hummingbird Bakery is an American-style bakery founded in 2004 to bring the authentic taste of American home baking to London. The company opened its first branch on Portobello Road in Notting Hill in 2004 and has since launched a further five branches across London in South Kensington, Soho, Spitalfields, Islington and Richmond. It also has a franchise presence in the Middle East with two branches already operating in Dubai.
More From The Hummingbird Bakery
*New! Check this post with The Hummingbird Bakery’s video for Pumpkin and Cream Cheese Roulade
Follow the Hummingbird Bakery on YouTube.
Making shortcrust pastry the vegan way
What size baking tin would be needed for this?
In the video there are 3 x 20cm tins being used.
Hope that helps 🙂
Hi I have a 24×24 cake tin… What will the cooking time be if I had to put all the batter at one go.
Temperature and how many minutes to bake
Sounds like you’re going off piste with your square tin and everything in one go approach, Candice. Part of the calculation includes the height of the tin, so why not use this CakeOmeter tool to work it out?
And please let me know how you get on!
where is the method?!!!
You’ll need to watch the video on this one!
I can’t see how long to bake it for and on what temperature? Can anyone help?
Bake until done?! Lol. Nice one guys. In my experience, 170degrees and around 23mins for inch deep round tins or cupcakes, Zara. If it’s all in one tin, up to 50mins. When you take it out, listen closely- if it’s still bubbling it might need a bit longer.
Thanks Lara. Good to see such a nice, helpful comment. Hope that helps Zara!
Jon, Agree, Lara’s comment above helpful in the absence of any info in the recipe. However, it would be even more helpful to have the cooking instructions either written in the recipe or indicated on the video. Are we talking about fan or non-fan oven temperature?
Hi Martin, we didn’t make the video and it’s more a run-through of how the cake is made. Regarding temperature, if you use an oven thermometer then I would heat the oven to that. Hummingbird Bakery have a number of recipe books available, this one included: https://uk.bookshop.org/a/6154/9781784724160
Thanks, Jon. You may have gathered I am not a cook! Happy to use oven thermometer, would that be 170 degrees?
Your recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting is a little confusing where the bullets are concerned as things seem to have slipped a line and don’t make much sense. On the next line am I meant to “Heat” or “Beat” the icing sugar and butter together??
Perhaps I should just buy the book but hope that is clearer?!
PS My wife has just managed to make the cake using her years of experience and it is delicious 🙂
Thanks for your comments Martin. The bullet points have been adjusted and make a lot more sense now! Also the word “heat” makes no sense in that context so I’ve amended that. You are the first to have spotted it too. Also great to hear your wife made the cake. She’d tell you 170c as in fahrenheit that wouldn’t be hot enough to bake anything!
Feel free to critique other areas of the site. I should award prizes for eagle-eyed readers. 🙂
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A good tip for the icing which I find is never mentioned in these kinds of recipes is when the butter and icing sugar mix together you should add the icing sugar slowly and then when you add the cream cheese it will make the mixture VERY sloppy at first but leave it mixing and have faith! It will turn (like when you are whisking cream) and the finished result is lush x
A good tip for the icing which I find is never mentioned in these kinds of recipes is when the butter and icing sugar mix together you should add the icing sugar slowly and then when you add the cream cheese it will make the mixture VERY sloppy at first but leave it mixing and have faith! It will turn (like when you are whisking cream) and the finished result is lush x
Top tip! Thanks for your comment.