To celebrate the imminent return of hugely popular The Great British Bake off to our tv screens we bring you a delightful Peach & Blackberry Carrot Cake Recipe that could be confident of winning any baking contest with.
Next Wednesday sees the start of the seventh series of The Great British Bake off, where precision, perfection and pastries is the name of the game, as 12 amateur bakers try to impress judges Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood.
The show is one of the jewels in the crown of the BBC, and was the most-watched show of last year, with more than 15 million viewers tuning in for the final.
A pastor, a hairdresser, a nurse and an aerospace engineer are among those who will be competing for this year's Bake Off crown, which as always will be ran on a weekly elimination basis.
Anyway so when it came to choosing a recipe for this week it naturally just have to be a cake recipe, and when it came to a cake recipe it just had to be something from Linda at callmecupcake.
Peach and Blackberry Carrot cake might well sound like an unusual combination, but the ingredients work so well together that it tastes delicious……and don’t look to shabby either. Both key things if you’re endeavoring to be the next Bake Off winner.
Peach & Blackberry Carrot Cake Recipe
Makes one 6-inch cake, serves 8-10
Ingredients
For the cake:
* 150 g salted butter
* 3 large eggs
* 2/3 cup (135 g) granulated sugar
* 1/3 cup + 1 1/2 tbsp (65 g) light brown muscovado sugar, firmly packed
* 1/4 tsp vanilla powder
* 1 1/4 cups (180 g) all purpose flour
* 2 tsp baking powder
* 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
* 1/4 tsp sea salt flakes
* 1 tsp ground cinnamon
* 250 g carrots (about 1 3/4 cups when grated)
* 1 can (around 410 g) of peach halves in juice (2/3 cup of peach puree will be used in the cake, save the rest for filling)
For the cream cheese frosting:
* 150 g softened butter
* 200 g cream cheese, at room temperature
* 3/4 - 1 cup (110-150 g) powdered sugar
* 1/4 tsp vanilla powder
For the filling:
* Remaining peach puree
Caramelized peaches:
* 3-4 fresh peaches
* 3 tbsp butter
* 3 tbsp light brown muscovado sugar, loosely packed
* Fresh blackberries
Instructions
Cake:
1. Heat oven to 350°F (175°C).
2. Butter and flour two 6-inch (15 cm) cake pans.
3. Melt the butter and leave to cool.
4. Beat eggs and sugars until fluffy and lighter in color and texture, about 3 minutes. Add melted butter and vanilla and beat until combined.
5. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a bowl, then stir into the batter until just smooth.
6. Peel and grate the carrots. Put the peaches (without the juice) in a blender or food processor and process until smooth.
7. Add grated carrots and 2/3 cup of the peach puree to the batter and stir until combined. Divide batter between the two cake pans.
8. Bake for about 40-43 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
9. Leave to cool in the pans for 20 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Cream cheese frosting:
1. Beat butter until pale and fluffy. Add cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until just smooth.
2. Put the bowl in the fridge while you cut the cake.
Assembly:
1. Cut both cake layers in half with a serrated knife so you end up with four cake layers.
2. Put the first cake layer on a cake board or directly onto a plate or cake stand. Spread a layer of frosting on the first layer, then spread a layer of the peach puree over. Repeat this until you've used up all layers.
3. Spread a thin layer of frosting all over the cake and put in the fridge while you prepare the topping.
Caramelized peaches:
1. Slice the fresh peaches. Heat the butter over medium heat in a non-reactive skillet. Add brown sugar and swirl with a wooden spoon until the sugar melts.
2. Add the peach slices and caramelize for 2-3 minutes. Let cool completely, then put them on top of the cake with blackberries.
For more great recipes like this please head on over to callmecupcake.se, and for more on the Bake Off please see the official website here.