Carrot carrot choc-a-block with walnuts,pineapple,coconut and of course, carrots

After an exhausting day shopping for our winter cloths at Velocity, we rested our tired feet at Fish and Co and tested a couple of their new recipes. The other 2 intrepid travelers had New York fish and chips while I had ginza salmon, a dish I am very excited to share later. Fully sated but refusing to go without dessert, we had a fantastic carrot cake. Which is just as well, since the little traveler's idea of carrot cake is the Singapore's version : radish rice cake fried with lots and lots of black sauce and sprinkled with scallions.

Time for some re-education and we share a triple decked carrot cake choc -a-block with walnut, coconut, pineapple and carrot. The cream cheese icing sent all our eyes rolling back in utter bliss and lip smacking goodness. Fault's totally mine for not ever trying to make one of these. So this afternoon, all of us helped create our family's first carrot cake , western version. When the icing was completed, the mini audience broke out in applause because stomachs were growling.

Special thanks to Stephanie Jaworski at http://www.joyofbaking.com/CarrotCake.html whose array of recipes is always at hand to satisfy my cravings. Timing and portions adapted for my equipment.

350 g grated carrot
1/2 C grated coconut
1 C walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

Dry ingredients ( well mixed, set aside) :
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Wet ingredients :
4 eggs, room temperature
1 1/4 C fine sugar
1 C canola oil
2 tsp vanilla essence

Cream cheese frosting:
250 g cream cheese, room temperature
50 g butter, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 cups icing sugar, sieved ( I will reduced to 1 1/2 cups for a lighter taste next time )

How we did it :
Line an oiled spring form tin with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 180 C with raised rack in the oven.

Beat eggs until frothy. Add sugar in 4 batches and beat until white and fluffy.
Add oil in steady stream and continue beating.
Add vanilla essence.
Stir in flour mix, in 3 batches and mix well.
Finally, stir in carrot, coconut and walnut. Transfer mix to spring form tin. Bake at 180C for 50-60 minutes. Cake is done with stick comes out clean from the middle of the cake.

Cool cake completely on rack. Remove cake and parchment. Cool further. This is essential or the frosting in the middle will melt and get absorbed into the cake if instruction is not adhered. Guess how I found out!

Meanwhile, beat 250g cream cheese, brought to room temperature, with 50g of unsalted butter and 1 tsp of vanilla essence. In several portions, add 2 cups of sieved icing sugar and 1 tsp of grated lemon skin. Blend well.

Make markings halfway on the sides of the cake with toothpicks. With a long thin knife, cut cake across horizontally .

With the top of the cake faced down on a serving plate, spread 1/3 of cream frosting on the cut surface. Stack the bottom half of the cake onto the cream half . You should end up with the flat bottom of the cake facing you this time. Spread 1/3 of the frosting on the new surface on the cake and the remaining on the side. Sprinkle chopped walnuts on the frosting.

Chill thoroughly before serving. Splendid when taken with tea!