Carrot Cake With Apricot Filling Recipes

CARROT APRICOT CAKE

Steps:

• 1. Pre-heat oven to 350. Blend together in mixer on medium speed: sugar, vegetable oil, and eggs. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground cloves and allspice. Fold dry ingredients into wet mixture and blend well on medium speed for approximately 5 minutes. Fold in carrots, nuts, raisin and apricots. until well blended. Distribute batter evenly into 3 or 4 (9-inch) cake pans, which have been generously greased. Bake 20 minutes if 4 skinny layers, 25 minutes if 3 layers or check with toothpick for completely baked cakes. Remove from oven cool completely on racks right side up in the pans. After 15 minutes, invert cakes onto racks to remove from pans. Place cakes in freezer for 30 minutes before frosting them. This process is the easiest way to frost a cake without crumbs in the icing.
• 2. To make the frosting: Blend cream cheese until smooth on low speed, add in softened butter until blended. Add in sugar 1 cup at a time on medium speed until frosting is smooth and creamy. Then blend in the vanilla.
• 3. Remove cakes from freezer. Place first layer, bottom side down, in center of cake plate. With a spatula, evenly distribute frosting on 1st layer. Center second layer on top of first layer with topside down, and repeat process on each layer. On final top layer before the frosting is added, use both hands and press firmly but gently, all layers together to get one firm cake. With spatula, spread remainder of frosting to cover top and sides of cake. Garnish top with some finely chopped nuts, then refrigerate.

ULTIMATE CARROT CAKE

Steps:

• Sift dry ingredients twice.
• Beat the eggs until thick, add the sugar gradually (use an electric beater at high speed for about 3 minutes) until the mixture is very thick.
• Add the oil slowly and beat for another 2 minutes.
• Add carrots, pineapple, nuts, Amarula Cream and apricot jam and mix by hand.
• Add the dry ingredients to the mixture and fold in with a spatula until well blended.
• Butter a 28 cm diameter loose-bottomed spring form ring, an angle cake tin or 2 loaf tins**.
• Either line the base with baking paper or sprinkle with dry biscuit crumbs to coat lightly.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake at 356 degrees to 375 degrees for 1 hr and 10 minute or until done.
• Allow to firm and cool in tin for 10 minutes before turning out.
• ICING:.
• Cream the butter and gradually add the icing sugar.
• Gently stir in the Amarula Cream and the cream cheese.
• Don't over mix once the cheese has been added as it is inclined to become watery.
• Garnish:.
• Crystallized pineapple slices and pecan nuts.
• (**CAKE TINS: If using a 28cm springform tin with a hole in the middle there will be a little too much mixture. Fill the tin 2/3 full and bake the rest of the mixture in a muffin tin will make plus/minus 6 muffins extra.
• Angel cake tin - the mixture fits fine.
• Loaf tin - use one very large loaf tin - 30cm x 10 cm or 2 smaller ones).
• (Tip: If you "drip-dry" the cheese in a muslin cloth overnight, it becomes much drier. Allow the cake to cool completely before icing.).