This carrot cake recipe has just four ingredients and uses no sugar or butter – and it still tastes amazing
While many recipes call for a lengthy list of ingredients and intricate steps to achieve the perfect texture, swapping eggs and butter for one ingredient can make baking a breeze. A recipe that’s been making waves on social media uses condensed milk to simplify the cake down to just four key components.
First shared on a budgeting group page on Facebook, the recipe is hailed as “quick and easy”, and “a great way to use up carrots in the fridge”, according to a blogger at Practical Parenting. The sweetened milk acts as a brilliant egg substitute and cuts down the amount of sugar needed to balance the sponge.
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It’s cheaper to whip up than most carrot cakes and leaves less room for slip-ups, reports the Express.
Carrot cake recipe
Ingredients
- Two cups of self-raising flour (240g)
- Two cups of grated carrots (245g)
- One tin of condensed milk
- 100g pecan nuts, walnuts or sultanas
Cream cheese frosting
- 60g softened butter
- 500g icing sugar (sieved)
- 250g cream cheese
- 80ml lemon juice
Method
All you need to craft this cake is a standard-sized loaf tin and a large mixing bowl. Start by preheating the oven to 180C, then grease and line the loaf tin with baking parchment to cover the base and sides.
Next, grate the carrots and place them in a clean tea towel, fold it over and lightly squeeze out the excess moisture. Weigh out the flour, and condensed milk then toss both into the mixing bowl along with the carrots.
Mix everything together to create a scrumptious cake batter, then stir in the nuts or sultanas if using. If you’re a fan of both, add 50g of each to the cake batter.
Stir them through the mixture then pour everything into the lined loaf tin. Bake for 45 minutes at 180C until a skewer comes out clean.
Once your cake is baked, remove it from the oven and let it cool. If you’re whipping up the cream cheese frosting, read on.
Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until it’s silky smooth. Then, add in the softened butter and mix for about 30 seconds to a minute until it’s well combined.
Next, pour in the lemon juice and icing sugar, and continue mixing until everything is perfectly blended. When the cake has fully cooled, slather the frosting all over the top.
