Ultimate Carrot Cake - cooking recipe

Ingredients

CAKE
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
1 tablespoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups oil
1 1/4 cups caster sugar
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup well drained grated fresh pineapple or 1 cup well drained grated granny smith apple
1 cup chopped pecan nuts
1/4 cup Amarula cream liqueur
1/2 cup smooth apricot jam
CREAM CHEESE ICING
1/4 cup butter
2 cups sifted icing sugar
1 tablespoon Amarula cream liqueur
125 g cream cheese or 125 g smooth low fat cottage cheese

Preparation

Sift dry ingredients twice.
Beat the eggs until thick, add the sugar gradually (use an electric beater at high speed for about 3 minutes) until the mixture is very thick.
Add the oil slowly and beat for another 2 minutes.
Add carrots, pineapple, nuts, Amarula Cream and apricot jam and mix by hand.
Add the dry ingredients to the mixture and fold in with a spatula until well blended.
Butter a 28 cm diameter loose-bottomed spring form ring, an angle cake tin or 2 loaf tins**.
Either line the base with baking paper or sprinkle with dry biscuit crumbs to coat lightly.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake at 356 degrees to 375 degrees for 1 hr and 10 minute or until done.
Allow to firm and cool in tin for 10 minutes before turning out.
ICING:
Cream the butter and gradually add the icing sugar.
Gently stir in the Amarula Cream and the cream cheese.
Don't over mix once the cheese has been added as it is inclined to become watery.
Garnish:
Crystallized pineapple slices and pecan nuts.
(**CAKE TINS: If using a 28cm springform tin with a hole in the middle there will be a little too much mixture. Fill the tin 2/3 full and bake the rest of the mixture in a muffin tin will make plus/minus 6 muffins extra.
Angel cake tin - the mixture fits fine.
Loaf tin - use one very large loaf tin - 30cm x 10 cm or 2 smaller ones).
(Tip: If you \"drip-dry\" the cheese in a muslin cloth overnight, it becomes much drier. Allow the cake to cool completely before icing.).