Food & Nutrition

Carrot Cake with Raisins and Peach-Cream Frosting

written by Avatar photoGaby

Carrot cake with raisins

For the batter:

  • 250g of flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 4 eggs
  • 320g of sugar (you can reduce the sugar to 280–300g)
  • 120g of raisins
  • Zest of 1 orange
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 2–3 medium-sized carrots (I’ve used both 2 and 3 carrots — there wasn’t much difference)
  • 6 tbsp of oil
  • 1g of cinnamon
  • 1/12 cup of finely chopped or grated walnuts — optional

For the cream:

  • 300g of cream cheese (I substituted with farmer’s cheese)
  • 1/2 can of canned peaches
  • 6 tbsp of powdered sugar (I didn’t add this because the farmer’s cheese was sweet enough)
  • 400g of sour cream (a thicker, tangier Eastern European-style sour cream)
  • Optional — 200ml of heavy cream (30–36%) to make the cream softer

For soaking the layers:

  • 80–100ml of water
  • 1–2 tbsp of sugar
  • 2–3 tbsp of lemon sugar
  • Optional: 1–2 tbsp of cognac (or rum or fruit liqueur)
  1. In a small bowl, mix the rinsed raisins, orange zest, lemon zest, grated carrot, and cinnamon — the aroma immediately recalls winter holidays.
  2. Beat the eggs and sugar with a mixer until a strong foam forms. (The first time I made this, the mixture wouldn’t whip to stiff peaks, but the cake still rose beautifully.)

    Add the prepared raisins and carrots and the flour, then mix everything again.

    Add the oil and gently mix. Pour the finished batter into a round cake pan and bake at 340–360°F for 40–50 minutes (until a toothpick comes out clean). The original recipe called for 30 minutes at 300°F, but that wasn’t enough for my batter.
  3. I baked the first cake in a 9.5-inch round pan, and the next day (for home use) I baked two 8-inch cakes.
  4. Let the cake cool — it’s best to bake it in the evening and leave it overnight to settle. Cut it into 2–3 layers.
  5. For the cream, whip the room-temperature sour cream and cream cheese with the powdered sugar until fluffy and smooth. If adding heavy cream, whip it separately, then gently fold it into the cheese mixture.
  6. Remove any small pieces of peach pit from the canned peaches — this can happen. Cut the peaches into small pieces.
  7. On a cake stand, layer the cake: soak each layer with syrup, add cream, and scatter pieces of peach. Decorate the top as desired.
  8. Refrigerate for 12–24 hours. Substitute raisins with finely chopped dried apricots or apples if preferred.