Carrot cake

This is my first carrot cake. I always wondered about the flavors of a carrot cake. Does the cake have any real carrot flavor, how does the cream cheese icing work with this type of cake,... The traditional cake is made from layers of cream cheese icing and carrot sponge. I wanted the cake to look more modern, and I made a cream cheese mousse instead of the traditional icing. For some added freshness I also made mandarin orange jellies, I placed a few of them in the cream cheese mousse.

I was really excited to use my new silicon molds from Pavoni Italia. They come in all shapes and sizes and I had trouble deciding which ones to choose. I was very happy using it. The mold is very stable and the frozen mousse comes out cleanly.

After the mousse was frozen I glazed it with cold mirror gel. I like to use this type of gel because it's very simple to use. I only mix it with some water and food coloring and that's it. You can also check-out my blog for different glaze recipes.

Carrot cake

(Makes one medium sized)

For the cake:

• 90g eggs
• 80g all-purpose flour
• teaspoon soda bicarbonate
• 11/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• a pinch of salt
• 75g vegetable oil
• 150g brown sugar
• 95g grated carrots
• 30g chopped toasted walnuts

For the mandarin orange jelly:

• 120g fresh mandarin orange juice
• 60g water
• 10g powdered gelatin
• 20g white granulated sugar (to taste)

For the cream cheese mousse:

• 18g water
• 30g egg yolk
• 56g powdered sugar
• 160g cream cheese
• 4g gelatin leafs
• 200g heavy cream

For the glaze:

• cold mirror gel
• orange food coloring
• water (to thin cold mirror gel)

Making the carrot cake:

Preheat oven to 180°C (356°F).

Whip eggs and sugar until foamy. Add oil and whip. Combine dry ingredients, except carrot and walnuts, together in a bowl. Sift them to the wet mixture. 

 Fold with spatula. Add grated carrot and walnuts. Fold until combined. Pour the batter in a baking dish (18cm).

Bake for about 45-50 minutes. 

Set aside to cool completely. Cut the cake in half lengthwise. You will only need one half of the cake for this dessert. Wrap the other half with foil, you can also freeze it. I used leftovers the next morning. I added some Nutella on top and cut it in small pieces, it was gone in seconds.

Making the mandarin orange jelly:

Soak gelatin in 60g water. Combine juice and sugar in a small pan and heat until very hot. Add the gelatin and stir.

Pour in small hemisphere silicon molds and freeze completely.

Making the cream cheese mousse:

Soak gelatin in cold water.

Place water and sugar in a small pan. Place on medium heat. Once the mixture reaches 100°C start whipping egg yolks. When the sugar mixture reaches 121°C add it slowly to the egg yolks while constantly whipping. 

Heat the cream cheese until liquid and hot. Add the soaked gelatin and stir. Sift in powdered sugar and add egg yolk mixture. Fold to combine.

Whip heavy cream to soft peaks. Fold it in the egg yolk mixture until combined.

Pour the mousse in the prepared silicon mold. Freeze for 10-15 minutes. Take out the frozen mandarin jellies. Add them to the mousse, gently pressing them inside.

Place back in the freezer overnight.

Assembly:
Unmold the frozen mousse and make the glaze. Place the mousse on the wire rack over a large bowl. Pour over the glaze.

Wait  for the glaze to set slightly then place the mousse on top of the carrot sponge.
Decorate with chocolate, caramel, walnuts,...