Autumn is definitely sharing its beauty with Sydney at the moment. Round every corner there is a dazzling red tree and more than a few orange beauties to keep the eyes happy and warm as the temperature starts to chill. I’ve whipped up a yummy carrot cake this week and Signor Pot has said he’s happy for me to make this cake any time. It’s got that great, seemingly slimming carrot cake vibe which I imagine hits his savoury tastebuds just right.

I decided to make it a bit of a celebratory number because there are a few wonderful things that have happened this month that are cause for great celebration. My parents have done a bit of house shopping. This is epic news, since they have been searching for a little house with a garden to turn into their dream garden for what feels like a million years now. I couldn’t be more happy for mum and dad and can’t wait to see them settled in their new special space and for us all to invade it regularly. I’m also celebrating the fact that Signor Pot is stealing his evenings back from the hospitality industry. This means we will have more time to go dancing, dining and exploring the city without time limits. We might also be able to host a few more special dinners so keep your eyes peeled for upcoming events, yipee.

Autumn Carrot Cake
Recipe adapted from Tessa Kiros ‘Falling Cloudberries’

For the cake:
4 eggs
2 cups caster sugar
3/4 cup sunflower oil
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 cup cake flour (or you can use all plain flour if you don’t have cake)
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
4 medium carrots, peeled and grated
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

For the icing:
113g butter, softened and cut into small cubes
2 cups icing sugar, sifted
3/4 cup cream cheese
3 drops vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 180°C.
Grease and flour a 9″ bundt pan or line a 9″ springform cake tin with baking paper.
In a freestanding electric mixer, whisk together the eggs and sugar till creamy, then whisk in the oil.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.
Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and use the beater attachment to mix till combined. Add the carrot and walnuts and mix till they are dispersed evenly through the cake batter.
Bake for an hour or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
The cake will rise up impressively.
Cool in the pan and then turn out onto a serving plate.

To make the icing, whip together the butter and sugar till it is stiff. Beat in the cream cheese and vanilla till combined and smooth.

When the cake is cool you can spread over the icing or pipe it on if you’re going celebratory like me. I also topped mine with tiny rosemary flowers.

xxBlighStBistro