Loaded Carrot Cake Slice with a Silky Cream Cheese Topping

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Moist and bursting with flavours from the carrots, pecan nuts, coconut, vanilla, cardamom and cinnamon, this foolproof cake can be eaten as is, or enhanced with my deliciously, smooth and silky Cream Cheese Topping. This slice is very similar to my Carrot Cake with Coconut and Pecans and a Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting, but loaded with additionally crunchy pecan nuts, more carrot and also, a healthy amount of sultanas.

Lyngen Lodge

Although I have been making this cake for many years, I made it on this occasion, to photograph for a suite of recipes I am collecting following our amazing trip to Lyngen Lodge, last April. A similar cake was served on the final afternoon tea of this fabulous trip. Unfortunately, I do not have a photograph, but I do remember that it was absolutely delicious.

Silky Cream Cheese Topping

This topping is less sweet with a higher proportion of cream cheese than many traditional cream cheese frostings and as such, you can spread it, but not pipe it. If you want a recipe you can pipe onto cakes, please see this recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting.

Where is this recipe from?

Based on my Spicy Cake with Vegetable/Fruit and Nuts – Core Recipe, the cake batter is not overly sweet, and I love the fact that I have sufficient to make both a slice and some muffins.

I serve the muffins as is and they are fabulous for breakfast or a mid-morning snack. The Silky Cream Cheese Topping, on the other hand, adds a sweet, dreamy, creamy layer and you end up with a richer and sweeter cake ideal for afternoon tea, dessert or a special treat.

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How to make Loaded Carrot Cake Slice with a Silky Cream Cheese Topping

Collect all your ingredients together and line the baking tin:

It is important to use the correct size tin – in this case it is a 20cm/8inch square tin or a 23cm/9inch square tin. If your tin is larger the depth of your cake batter will be less and the cake will cook more quickly. Equally if the tin is smaller, your cake batter will be deeper and cook more slowly.

1. Sit the tin on greaseproof paper making sure the paper is large enough to line the tin, come up the sides and have a little overhang.
2. Cut out the corners of the paper so it will fit easily into the tin
3. Fold the paper from corner to corner so the size of the centre of the paper matches the base of the tin. Slot inside the tin.

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For the Loaded Carrot Cake Slice –

• pecan nuts or walnuts
• carrots, washed and sliced into thick chunks, no need to peel
• sunflower or vegetable oil
• natural yoghurt
• eggs
• vanilla extract
• whole wheat or plain/all-purpose flour
• bicarbonate of /baking soda
• baking powder
• cardamom powder
• cinnamon powder
• fine salt
• light muscovado or light brown sugar
• desiccated coconut
• extra carrot, grated
• sultanas or raisins, or mix of the two

For the Silky Cream Cheese Topping –

• unsalted butter (make sure it is at room temperature)
• icing sugar
• cream cheese, at room temperature
• fine salt

How to make this delicious slice:

1. Scatter the pecan nuts onto a baking tray and roast in a pre-heated oven for 8 minutes. Leave to cool once cooked and set the 20 nuts aside to decorate the cake.
2. Whilst they are cooking, blitz the sliced carrots in a food processor until broken down.
3. Add the oil, yoghurt, eggs and vanilla and blitz until thoroughly mixed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. Next add the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cardamom, cinnamon, salt, sugar and coconut. Pulse until nearly mixed in.
5. Add the pecan nuts (minus the 20 for the topping) and pulse briefly to mix in and slightly chop. Alternatively, chop and fold into the batter by hand.
6. Grate the carrot, remove the bowl from the processor and add this grated carrot and the sultanas. Fold into the batter by hand.
7. Transfer 750g – 800g of the batter into a lined 20cm/8in square cake tin. (I place the cake tin on the scales, zero the scales, and pour the batter directly into the tin.)
8. Divide the remaining batter equally into 4 – 5 muffin cases.
9. Cook in the centre of a preheated oven for 35 – 40 minutes. Place the cake tin on the top shelf and the muffin tin on the lower shelf. The muffins cook in around 30 – 35 minutes and the slice will take around 35 – 40 minutes.
10. When cooked, leave in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.

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Make the Silky Cream Cheese Topping

To make in a food processor:

1. Put the room temperature butter, icing sugar and salt into the bowl of your food processor and beat until mixed.
2. Add the cream cheese or mascarpone and blitz again until mixed in. Do not over-beat at this stage. Your frosting is now ready to use.

To make using an electric whisk:

1. Put the butter and salt into the bowl of your electric whisk and beat until light and fluffy.
2. Gradually add the icing sugar, whisking well in between each addition. (NB You may wish to first fold the icing sugar in with a spoon before whisking – this will help to stop the icing sugar clouding up and making a mess of your kitchen!)
3. Add the cream cheese or mascarpone and beat again until mixed in. Do not over-beat at this stage. Your frosting is now ready to use.

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Now finish off the slice:

NB Make sure your cakes have completely cooled before icing.

1. Simply cover the slice with the cream cheese topping and make swirly patterns with a knife
2. Add the pecan nuts, slice and serve.

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Room temperature butter:

It is really important that the butter is at room temperature and soft enough to beat easily. If you have forgotten to take the butter out of the fridge and want to speed up the process, see here for information on softening butter. 

Softening Brown Sugar:

Have you ever gone into your kitchen cupboard for brown or muscovado sugar to find it is rock solid? There is a really simple solution to this, and it doesn’t involve a hammer and chisel! See here.

How do I store this cake:

Whilst this cake is best served at room temperature, the Cream Cheese Topping needs to be stored in the fridge. Allow the cake to come to room temperature before eating. This length of time this takes will depend entirely on how hot the outside temperature is.

Can this cake be frozen?

Yes it can be frozen! This cake freezes very well, in a sealed container, for up to 3 months. It can be frozen with or without the Silky Cream Cheese Topping.

Can I use a round cake tin?

• This recipe can be cooked in a round tin and is delicious served as either a single layer or double layer cake. The recipe below is sufficient for 2 x 18cm/7inch round cake tins.
• Alternatively, it will make around 18 – 20 cupcakes.

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Made this recipe?

If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodil_kitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.