When the sweet tooth strikes, a good slice of cake always does the trick.
And sure, you could dash to your local shop or cafe, but there’s something incredibly satisfying about baking one yourself.
Home baking is also an ideal way to decompress after a hectic week, so if you’re on the hunt for a solid recipe, this Mary Berry one might just be what you need.
Her carrot cake recipe with a creamy mascarpone topping doesn’t call for any fancy ingredients and can be whipped up in one bowl.
Plus, it only requires 15 minutes of prep time before being popped into the oven and baked to perfection, reports the Express.
Carrot cake has long been a favourite at teatime, thanks to its spiced, fluffy sponge topped with creamy icing.
And with Mary Berry’s recipe, it’s simpler to make than you’d imagine. The description on the website reads: “Always a popular cake, this American carrot cake needs to be stored in the fridge because of the mascarpone topping. Walnut pieces are cheaper than walnut halves and are perfect for cakes.”
Here’s everything you’ll need to whip it up. Before you begin, ensure you have a 20cm deep round cake tin.
Mary Berry’s carrot cake
Ingredients – for the cake
- 225g self-raising flour
- Two teaspoons baking powder
- 150g light muscovado sugar
- 50g walnut pieces, chopped
- 100g carrots, coarsely grated
- Two ripe bananas, mashed
- Two eggs
- 150 ml sunflower oil
For the topping
- 250g tub mascarpone cheese
- Two to three teaspoons vanilla extract
- Two tablespoons icing sugar, sifted
- about 25g walnut pieces, chopped
Method
Lightly grease a 20 cm deep round cake tin and line the base with a circle of non-stick baking parchment. Pre-heat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Pour all the cake ingredients into a large bowl and mix thoroughly until well combined, using an electric mixer is ideal for this but you can also manually beat it with a wooden spoon. Transfer the mixture into the prepped cake tin and gently smooth out the surface.
Bake in the pre-heated oven for approximately 50-60 minutes or until the cake has risen well, turned golden and started to pull away from the tin’s edges. A fine skewer inserted into the middle of the cake should come out clean.
Allow the cake to cool in the tin for a few moments, then loosen the cake’s sides from the tin using a small palette knife or blunt knife, turn out the cake and let it cool completely on a wire rack.
For the topping, combine the mascarpone cheese with the vanilla extract and sieved icing sugar in a small bowl. Spread this evenly over the top of the cake and sprinkle the chopped walnuts on top. Keep the cake stored in the fridge.