Carrot and Date Cake Topped With Cream Cheese Icing
Carrot and date loaf with cream cheese icing
Loaf cakes are up there with my favourites. Easy to store, easy to slice. This beauty is jam packed with carrot and dotted with chopped dates and a smattering of nuts for a delicious mid-bite crunch.
Ingredients
- Dried, pitted dates, chopped - 1 cup
- Boiling water - 1/2 cup
- Bicarbonate of Soda - 1/2 teaspoon
- Eggs - 2
- Olive oil - 1/2 cup
- Self-raising flour - 2 cups
- Brown sugar - 1 cup
- Carrot, grated coarsley - 1 1/2 cups
- Chopped walnuts or pecans - 1/2 cup
- Ground cinnamon - 1 teaspoon
- Ground nutmeg - 1/2 teaspoon
- For icing
- Cream cheese, softened - 250g
- Butter, slightly soft - 50g
- icing sugar, sifted - 1/2 cup
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease and line the base of 23cm x 13cm loaf pan with baking paper, allowing the sides to overhang.
2. In a heatproof bowl, combine the dates, boiling water and bicarbonate soda. Stir and let sit for 10 minutes to soften. Add the eggs and oil to the date mix and whisk to combine.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, carrot, nuts, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir in the date / egg / oil mixture and mix until just combined. Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin and smooth the surface with a spatula.
4. Bake in the oven for 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the centre. Keep the loaf in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
5. Using an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the icing sugar and beat until well combined, smooth and creamy. Spread over the top of the cooled loaf.
All that's left to do is put your feet up, make a coffee and enjoy a piece of cake. This cake is also suitable to freeze.
