Carrot Cake with Burnt Honey Custard Diplomat
A carrot cake is often the first bake that emerges from my kitchen when spring is approaching. It bridges the gap between the seasons where colourful fruits aren’t quite in the supermarkets yet. It brings a bit of sunshine ahead of the brighter days that are around the corner. This is my favourite carrot cake recipe at the moment. It’s full of earl grey soaked sultanas and lots of orange zest. It’s incredibly moist. I have purposely made this as one thick sponge because that’s what I want from a carrot cake. No stingy small sponges around here!
It’s topped with the most silky burnt honey custard diplomat cream. Honey is cooked on the stove until bubbling and amber before being turned into a pastry cream. Once set, it’s whipped up with double cream to leave you with a deliciously light cream which tastes like sweet caramelized honey. It’s piled on top in beautiful domes and garnished with pistachio, orange segments, tulips and gold leaf.
An elevated classic for those who adore a carrot cake but want something a little special.
Ingredients - makes one 8inch square cake (serves 12)
Burnt Honey Custard Diplomat:
225ml whole milk
1/2 tsp vanilla paste
1/2 tsp flaky salt
170g honey
20g caster sugar
10g cornflour
10g custard powder
1 egg
1 egg yolk
20g unsalted butter
300ml double cream
Carrot Cake:
160g sultanas
1 earl grey teabag
280g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
170g ground almonds
4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
4 eggs
350g caster sugar
Zest of 2 oranges
1 tsp vanilla extract
300ml vegetable oil
360g finely grated carrot
To garnish:
Orange segments/Tulips/Ground Pistachio/Gold Leaf
Method
The day before assembly:
Start by making the burnt honey custard: Place the honey into a saucepan over medium heat. Pour the milk and vanilla into a second saucepan, also over medium heat. Once the milk is hot, remove it from the heat. Meanwhile, cook the honey until it is bubbling and reaches a golden amber colour. It should smell similar to honeycomb. Remove it from the heat and very gradually, whisk in the warm milk. Be careful here as it will bubble up a lot so only add a little milk at a time. Once all the milk has been added whisk together the eggs and egg yolks, sugar, cornflour and custard powder in a bowl. Gradually pour a third of the honey milk onto the yolks while whisking. Transfer this back into the pan with the rest of the milk and whisk together. Continue to whisk over medium heat until thick and bubbling. Lower the heat and keep cooking it for about 1 minute to ensure it is cooked out thoroughly. Be careful it doesn't burn! Take it off the heat and mix in the butter until smooth and shiny. Place the custard into a bowl, cover the surface with clingfilm and place into the fridge to chill overnight.
For the cake; pre-heat your oven to 170°C. Grease and line an 8inch square cake tin.
Place the sultanas and earl grey teabag into a bowl. Pour over boiling water to cover and leave to soak for 30 minutes. Mix the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, ground almonds, cinnamon and salt together. In the bowl of a stand mixer; whisk together the eggs, orange zest, vanilla and sugar until pale and thick. On medium speed, stream in the oil. Add in the grated carrot and mix. Fold in the dry ingredients. Lastly, drain the soaked sultanas and mix them through the batter. Pour the cake batter into your prepared cake tin and bake for 1 hour - 1 hour 10 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle. Rotate the cake after 50 minutes to ensure even baking. Leave to cool completely before removing it from the cake tin. Wrap in clingfilm and refrigerate overnight.
The day of serving:
Unwrap the carrot cake and place it onto your chosen serving plate or board.
To finish the burnt honey custard diplomat; spoon the set custard into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. (This can be done by hand if you don’t have a stand mixer.) Beat the custard until it is smooth. Remove the custard from the bowl and pour in the double cream. Whisk the double cream on medium-high until you have firm peaks. Stir a third of the cream through the custard to loosen it before gently folding the rest of the cream through. Place the cream into a piping bag fitted with a large plain piping nozzle. Pipe the cream on top of the carrot cake and garnish with the ground pistachios, orange segments, tulips and gold leaf.