Carrot cake

Carrot cake is the most easiest cake recipe I have made till date. I got the recipe from an elderly lady from Lebanon. I have to say a few words about this lady. As I was learning German, I used to leave my son under the care of this lady, during my classes. Though she was 60+, her dynamic personality made me go Wow! I really admire the ladies who are so dynamic and warm hearted. She used to offer us different varieties of bread she used to bake, during our intervals. One day she brought a large cake and offered all of us. The fabulous taste of the cake made me get curious to learn the recipe. As I really love baking, i asked her the recipe and she gave it to me the next day. Do you believe, I made the carrot cake on the same day and it was like I achieved something (not really though). Actually, I was very happy it turned out exactly the way she made. I have made this cake many many number of times and not even once it failed. Dedicating this post to her, I am sharing this recipe here.

Ingredients :

• Carrots - 2 medium sized, grated finely
• Eggs - 2
• Sugar - 1 cup
• Oil - 1/2 cup 
• Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
• Plain flour - 1 cup 
• Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp
• Ginger juice / powder - 1/2 tsp
• Baking soda - 1/2 tsp
• Baking powder - 1 tsp
• Almonds - 1/2 cup, sliced thinly ( optional) 
  

Preparing Carrot cake:

• Preheat the oven to 180 deg C or 360 deg F.
• Line a baking tray with  a parchment paper. Alternatively, brush oil all over the baking tray and dust it with plain flour. Remove the excess flour.
• Sift the flour, cinnamon powder, ginger powder, baking soda and baking powder through a sieve. Repeat once more.
  
• In a mixing bowl, take 2 eggs and beat well with a hand mixer / stand mixer for a minute on lower and the next minute on maximum.
  
• Add Sugar and beat well, followed by grated carrots and oil. 
• Add in half of the sifted dry ingredients. Beat it for a minute until it's incorporated well. Repeat the step again with the remaining sifted ingredients. 
  
• Fold in the almonds gently. Now the cake batter is ready to be poured into the baking tray. Pour the batter and tap the tray twice to release any trapped air.
  
  
  
• Put the tray in the oven and bake for around 40 minutes. Check midway through the glass door of the oven. Do not open the oven, as it results in heat loss. After 40 minutes, take the cake out and insert a toothpick till the bottom of the cake. If it comes out clean, then the cake is done. If not, pop it again into the oven and let it bake for 5 to 10 minutes more. 
• Note : If the cake is baking on the outside faster and not on the inside, cover the tray with an aluminium foil and let bake. This ensures even baking of the cake from all sides. 
• After taking the cake out from the oven, check with toothpick. Then allow it to stay as it is on the counter, for 5 to 10 minutes. Insert a knife to the sides, loosening it in the process. Invert it on a plate and tap gently. 
  
• Our delicious carrot cake is ready and allow it to cool completely. Sprinkle icing sugar on the cake through the sieve or if desired it can be topped with cream cheese frosting. The recipe for cream cheese frosting i will be sharing in my further posts. 
  
• Cut the cake in thick pieces and it's perfect to serve with a cup of coffee. Enjoyy!!!