Sunday, November 2, 2008

Almond Carrot Cake


I love almonds, but I've not been so fond of carrot cake.  This is because it's heavy and rich.  I especially dislike cream cheese frosting.  But this cake is quite different.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour a pan of your choice.  I put mine into two small bundt pans.  Since it was such a good fit, I would say that you can also use one large bundt pan, or tube pan, or maybe a loaf pan.

1/2 pound of carrots - this is two or three, or 225 grams, there's no exact science here, peeled and cut into chunks
50 grams of blanched almonds, about 1/2 cup

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extact

2 cups flour - 9 ounces
1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Put the carrots and the almonds into the food processor and process until nice and fine.
You can also throw in some dried cherries or raisins if you like.

In a mixing bowl cream the sugar, butter, and eggs.  Add the extracts.
Mix in the carrots and almonds.
Combine the dry ingredients and mix in.

Put the mixture into the desired conveyances and cook until done.  In the small bundt pans this should be about 35 minutes.  And in a large bundt I would guess about 45 minutes.  Make sure that the cake springs back when gently prodded.  
Let cool for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.

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