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Mum’s recipe for carrot cake

In search for some top-notch recipes handed down from our mums, we fell in favour with the story and recipe sent in by Michele Smit. We decided to bake her family’s treasured carrot cake recipe and think this one is well worth a tribute.

‘This particular recipe has been passed on from my grandmother to my mother and then it was passed on to me. It is such an amazing carrot cake. Trust me you have never tasted something so rich and decadent. What makes this recipe so special for me personally, is that it has become the “foothold” of my new baking business ever since my mom gave it to me. I started baking this cake for people at my work and everyone loved it so much, that they started ordering this carrot cake and so business just started to pick up. Because of this cake I decided to opened my own baking business in October 2012.

My mom has always been my true support where my baking and cooking skills are concerned. I can always phone her, any time of day or night, for advice and just to chat about what I’m making. My mom is such a special lady, always coming up with the most delicious food, almost sometimes out of nothing. She is such an inspiration, she has always stayed true to who she is and remained strong against all the obstacles of the world.

This recipe is truly a family secret, and it’s not given out at all, but I am sharing it because I feel so lucky to have had it.’ – Michele Smit

Ingredients:

For the cake

  • 3 eggs
  • 250ml oil
  • 250ml flour
  • 250ml sugar
  • 8ml baking powder
  • 3ml baking soda
  • 8ml cinnamon
  • 3ml salt
  • 500ml finely grated carrots
  • 60ml grated pecan nuts
  • 60ml fine pineapple (optional)

For the topping

  • 90g cream
  • 90g smooth cottage cheese
  • 180g sieved icing sugar
  • 3ml vanilla essence

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 160⁰C .
2. Mix the eggs and oil together. Keep mixing until it’s almost light and fluffy in colour.
3. Add the sieved dry ingredients and mix well.
4. Now add the grated carrots and pecan nuts. If you choose to add pineapple to your cake this is your cue.
5. Mix everything together well.
6. Pour the batter into a sprayed pan. The batter fits nicely into a 23cm cake pan. But if you would like to use a 20cm pan, it will yield two cakes and these can either be stacked or served separately.
7. Bake the carrot cake in your pre-heated oven at 160⁰C for about 45 minutes.
8. While your cake is baking, you can make the topping. Beat the cream until soft peaks form. They should be nice and stiff.
9. Add in the cottage cheese, icing sugar and vanilla essence.
10. Once your carrot cake is cooled, pour the topping over the cake. If you would prefer a thicker glaze, add more icing sugar until the desired consistency is achieved.

A big thank you to Michele Smit and her mum for sharing this recipe with us all.

With thanks to Sybil Doms for baking these classics in our kitchen.

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