Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake ( one 9-inch/23-cm cake)

Eggs - 6
Sugar - 180 g
Salt - 2.5 g (a pinch)
Lemon juice - 25 g
Rum - 25 g (or more)
Vanilla - 2.5 g
Ground carrots - 375 g
Bread flour - 50 g
Baking powder - 7.5 g
Cinnamon - 5 g
Bread crumbs - 100 g
Ground almonds - 150 g

- Place the eggs, sugar, and salt into a mixing bowl and heat over a water bath to blood temperature until the sugar is dissolved. Stir constantly, so that eggs won't curdle.
- Whip the eggs on high speed for about 10 minutes until firm peeks.
- Add the lemon juice, run, and vanilla to the egg mixture and mix just until blended.
- Fold in the ground carrots to the above mix by hand
- Sift the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon together. Add the bread crumbs and ground almonds. Mix.
- Gently fold the dry ingredients to the egg mixture just until blended.
- Butter and line a baking pan with a parchment paper.
- Pour the batter into a baking pan.
- Bake at 350F for about 45-60 (depending on the oven) minutes until the cake springs back when touched.
- Let the cake cool slightly then remove from the pan

Icing

Cream cheese at room temperature - 250 g
Icing sugar - 100 g
Lemon juice - 25 g
Whipping cream 35% - 250 ml
- Whip the cream to medium-hard peaks.
- Place the cream cheese in a separate bowl and mix it for a few minutes on medium speed until there are no lumps.
- Sift the icing sugar and add it to the cream cheese. Mix just until blended. Scrape the bowl.
- Add the lemon juice to the cream cheese and mix until incorporated.
- Add 1/3 of the whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture and mix until incorporated.
- Continue adding the rest of the whipped cream in stages and mix after each addition just until blended.

Cake Assembly

- Cut a completely cooled cake horizontally into 2 or 3 layers.
- Place the bottom one on a cake board and cover the top with a thin layer of icing.
- Place the second layer on top of the icing and cover it with more icing. (Repeat with the third layer if cake is cut into three)
- Mask the cake with cream cheese Icing and decorate with Marzipan carrots (lightly dusted in cocoa powder to simulate dirt)

Comments:
- This cake has no oil or butter, but the bread crumbs come from my Brioche bread with some butter in it.
- The taste is very well balanced and it's one of the best cakes I've ever tasted!