Julia Ostro kindly shared her recipe for her carrot cake with a simple frosting made with tangy quark – perfect for afternoon tea. Once frosted, the carrot cake should be stored in the fridge where it will keep nicely for a 3-4 days, just be sure to bring it to room temperature before serving again. Feel free to adjust the spices to your liking, adding more of one and less of another or adding new ones entirely!

Serves 8 - 10

INGREDIENTS

CAKE:

380g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp freshly ground cardamom
4 eggs
150g brown sugar
100g caster sugar
200ml canola oil
4 carrots (appx. 375g), coarsely grated
100g walnuts, roughly chopped (optional)

QUARK FROSTING:

350g Schulz Organic Dairy Quark
125g icing sugar, sieved
2tsp lemon juice
coconut flakes, to top

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 170C. Grease and line a 22cm square cake tin.

In a large bowl, combine the flour with the baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom and set aside.

Now in another a large bowl, beat the eggs together with sugars and canola oil until light and pale. This is best done in a stand mixer but by hand is fine too. Gently fold in the dry ingredients, then the carrots and walnuts (if using). Spoon into the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for around 45-55 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when tested.

Allow to cool briefly in the tin before transferring to a wire rack.

Meanwhile, for the frosting, simply mix the quark and icing sugar together in a bowl until smooth. Stir in the lemon juice and check for sweetness, adding a little more icing sugar if preferred. Spread the frosting over the cooled cake, sprinkle generously with coconut flakes and serve.