Few days ago I posted a picture of crocuses on instagram. You know, they looked so lovely and the Spring is coming so why not? In Spring even the air is different. But the very next day I woke up to find the world covered in snow again. Luckily for me, I’m one of those people that can’t have enough of Winter. But the mood among people I know was noticeable down.

So I thought, why not bring some colour myself? The first thing I could think of was a carrot cake. For one for its colours and the flavour. But also ever since I cleaned up my mail box and found an old and dusty email titeled “better one free carrot than two in prison” I couldn’t stop thinking about them. In a way, even the timing just couldn’t be better. With Easter just days away, this cake is perfect for a dessert after a nice meal with the family. Or whenever you like. I usually make it at least once a year and it’s always a small feast.

It makes for ca 8 pieces.

Preparation time: 15min           Baking time: 55min

You need:

180g sugar

4 eggs

350g of flour

1 tsp vanilla sugar

2 tsp baking powder

300ml of vegetable oil

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

ca 10 dried apricot

50g almonds

50g hazelnuts

2 cups of grated carrots

For the cream:

100g soft butter

175g cream cheese (f.e. Philadelphia)

100g sugar

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (350F).

In a large bowl beat the eggs with the sugar. Gradually add sifted flour, baking powder, vanilla sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and oil. Mix well and stir in carrots.

Chop the almonds and hazelnuts and cut the apricots to pieces. Add to the batter and mix well. Pour the batter to a baking form and bake for ca 55min. If the top of the cake is already brown and look done, it pays off to double check. Just insert a toothpick into the center and see if it comes out clean.

When done, let it cool and prepare the cream.

In a bowl, beat the softened butter, cream cheese and the sugar until smooth and creamy.