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carrot almond cake with orange cream filling on a vintage platter.
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5 from 3 votes

Carrot Almond Cake

This carrot almond cake is perfect for Easter or any occasion. It is bursting with flavor from carrots, almonds, and a delightful orange juice and whipped cream filling.
Prep Time1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour 45 minutes
Course: Cakes
Cuisine: German
Servings: 14 -16 pieces
Calories: 286kcal
Author: Adina

Equipment

Ingredients

Carrot almond cake (Notes 1, 2):

  • 250 g carrots weighed after peeling, 9 oz
  • 150 g ground almonds 5.5 oz/ 1 ¼ cups
  • 4 eggs
  • zest of 1 orange
  • 150 g granulated sugar 5.5 oz/ ¾ cup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 100 g all-purpose flour 3.5 oz/ ¾ cup + 1 tablespoon
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 pinch of salt

Orange filling:

  • 4 leaves gelatin
  • 40 g cornstarch 1.5 oz/ ⅓ cup
  • 40 g sugar 1.5 oz/ ¼ cup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 5-6 oranges Note 3
  • 400 ml heavy cream 1 ½ cups
  • zest of ½ orange

To decorate:

  • zest of 1 orange
  • pistachios chopped

Instructions

Cake:

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 350°F. Grease and flour the springform. Shake well over the sink to remove the excess flour (or use parchment paper instead).
  • Carrots: Peel them and weigh the required quantity. Grate them finely and set them aside.
  • Roast the almonds in a dry pan. Stand by the stove and stir frequently. Immediately remove the roasted almonds from the pan and let cool while you prepare the rest.
  • Separate the eggs. Beat the egg whites until stiff. Set aside.
  • Mix wet ingredients: Zest 1 of the oranges. Beat the egg yolks, sugar, vanilla extract, and orange zest until light and creamy, at least 2 minutes at high speed. Fold in the grated carrots and the roasted almonds.
  • Add dry ingredients: In another bowl, mix the flour and the baking powder. Sieve the mixture over the egg yolk mixture and fold in. Carefully fold in the egg whites as well.
  • Bake: Pour the mixture into the prepared springform and bake for 40-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
  • Let the cake cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then remove it and let it cool completely on a wire rack.

Orange filling:

  • Bloom the gelatin: Place the gelatin leaves in a deep plate and cover them with cold water. Leave to bloom as instructed on the packet, usually between 7 and 10 minutes.
  • Prepare oranges: Juice some of the oranges and measure 375 ml/1 ⅔ cups of orange juice. If only a small quantity of liquid is missing, top that with water. Keep one orange whole, as you will need it for the filling.
  • Make orange pudding: Stir the cornstarch and sugar with a little of the juice, enough to form a pourable paste. Pour the rest of the juice into a saucepan and bring to a boil. When it boils, whisk in the cornstarch paste. Let bubble a couple of times while whisking continuously. Remove from the heat and stir in the bloomed and lightly squeezed gelatin and the vanilla extract.
  • Cool: Place a piece of cling film directly over the surface of the orange pudding to prevent it from forming a skin. Then, leave it to cool completely.

Assemble and decorate (Note 4):

  • Orange zest: Zest 1 orange and spread the zest on a paper towel. Leave to dry for a while. You will need that to decorate the cake; it works better if the zest is dry.
  • Cream: Beat the heavy cream until stiff and fold in the zest of another ½ orange.
  • Combine: Stir the orange pudding shortly to smooth it out, then fold in the whipped heavy cream.
  • Slice the cake horizontally. Place the lower slice on a serving platter.
  • Peel one orange and fillet the orange slices to remove all the white skin and membranes.
  • Assemble the cake: Cut the orange fillets into smaller pieces and arrange them all over the lower cake slice. Top with ½ of the orange cream filling. Place the second cake slice on top and top with the remaining orange cream filling.
  • Decorate the carrot almond cake with chopped pistachios and dried orange zest.

Notes

  1. Measurements: I strongly recommend using a digital kitchen scale (the Amazon link opens in a new tab) in baking; it guarantees the best results.
  2. Time management: You can prepare the filling and the cake base the night before and let them cool overnight; I prefer that. Layered cakes can be pretty laborious, and spreading the tasks over two days helps reduce stress and makes the process easier.
  3. Oranges: Depending on their size, you'll need about 5-7 medium to large oranges. This should yield approximately 375 ml (1 ⅔ cups + 2 tablespoons) of freshly squeezed orange juice, with one orange left for filleting. I found that this amount of juice came from 5 oranges on average. It's a good idea to buy 1 or 2 extra oranges to ensure you have enough juice, plus an additional one for filleting. Ensure the oranges are organic and unwaxed; you'll also need their zest.
  4. The decoration is optional; you can decorate the cake any way you like. Using marzipan carrots instead of pistachios and orange zest is also a nice idea.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice out of 16 | Calories: 286kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 118mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 19g