Carrot cake with cream cheese

Patry, author of Sabores y Momentos , brings us the traditional carrot and raisin cake in a mini version and in a cake version: she turns mini-carrot cakes into a multi-tiered cake covered in cream cheese and coconut. A tender and delicious cake, with which you will surely succeed if you give it that beautiful finish.

What an illusion, now it is really Spring! The one that didn't want to arrive but when it finally comes it makes us all smile!

We have to celebrate it, so today I have prepared this miniature delight for you, because what is a recipe to make a large cake, I have divided it in half and using my beautiful mini cocottes from Le Creuset , I have baked four sponge cakes to assemble them mini size as layer cake and thus create some flirty desserts!

With the cream cheese as filling and topping, and with the coconut flakes on top, it looks beautiful… But the best thing is that this is my infallible recipe for Carrot cake , the one I've been preparing at home for more than 20 years because I haven't tried another better!! Do you want her?

Le Creuset ceramic mini cocottes

Ingredients

• 325g grated or chopped carrot
• 50g of brown or panela sugar
• 140g of white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 100ml vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 200g of flour
• 100g sultana raisins (optional)
• 60gr of natural pineapple in its juice, drained and crushed
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• A few shelled and chopped walnuts (optional)

For the cream cheese:

• 50g soft butter
• 150g of cream cheese
• 90g of icing sugar
• Juice of half a small lemon
• Coconut flakes to decorate

Elaboration

1. In a bowl , combine the grated carrot with the brown sugar and let it rest for a few minutes while we prepare the next step.
2. Preheat the oven to 175ºC. Grease our mini-cocottes with a little butter or vegetable oil and place two thin strips of baking paper on the bottom in the shape of a cross that protrude from above and then pull them when removing the biscuits.
3. In the bowl of our KitchenAid we beat the eggs first alone and then with the white sugar (with the paddle at high speed) until they double their volume. Add vegetable oil, vanilla and well-squeezed and crushed pineapple (simply crumbled so that there are no large pieces), and continue beating at medium speed.
4. Combine the flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and cinnamon in another bowl and then add it to the egg mixture and incorporate, beating at a gentle speed. Next we pour the carrot, raisins and chopped walnuts and mix with a tongue or spatula so that the air that our mixture has does not come down.
5. Pour the mixture evenly into the four molds without filling them completely, leaving a finger and a half on the edge.
6. Bake for about 35 minutes (or until we see that it is ready and that by poking it with a toothpick it comes out clean) with heat above and below but without air.
7. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before unmolding.
8. While we prepare the cream cheese in the already clean and dry bowl of the KitchenAid again using the spatula.
9. Pour the cream cheese, the very soft but not melted butter, the icing sugar (sifted) and begin to beat. Once we have the cream ready, add the lemon juice and mix again. Then I recommend putting the cream in the fridge for a few minutes to be able to work it well.
10. To assemble the cake, cut each of the biscuits in half and even out the surface by cutting the top if it has come out a bit.
11. We are smearing the layers with the cream cheese and placing one on top of the other. Next we can completely cover until we create a kind of naked cake and decorate with dehydrated coconut flakes. And ready to serve!

Le Creuset ceramic mini cocottes