Nigella Lawson Ginger And Walnut Carrot Cake

Nigella Lawson’s ginger and walnut carrot cake is a single-layer, oil-based sponge packed with grated carrot, crumbled walnuts and finely chopped crystallised ginger. It’s topped with a ginger-spiked cream cheese icing, on top only, not through the middle. It cuts into 8 to 12 slices and bakes at 170C for around 50 minutes.

The recipe is from At My Table, as seen on her BBC series, and she’s clear it’s not the tall, sweet American kind. Hers is a rustic, old-fashioned English teatime cake with a triple hit of ginger: ground ginger in the sponge, chopped crystallised ginger through it, and fresh ginger juice squeezed into the icing. That layering of one spice in three forms is what makes it hers.

The one thing that lifts the icing is squeezing fresh ginger for its juice, not the pulp. Nigella grates fresh ginger, gathers it in kitchen roll, and presses out the intense juice into the frosting. Fibrous pulp would leave stringy threads in a smooth icing, so it’s the sharp juice you want, beaten in.

Nigella Lawson Ginger And Walnut Carrot Cake

Recipe by Pinch PerfectCourse: DessertCuisine: BritishDifficulty: Easy

Servings

8-12

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

50

minutes

Calories

420

kcal

Total time

1

hour 

10

minutes

From At My Table, as seen on her BBC series. A one-layer, oil-based carrot cake with crystallised ginger and walnuts, finished with a ginger cream cheese icing on top only.

Ingredients

• For the cake:

• 200g plain flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

• 2 tsp ground ginger

• ¼ tsp fine sea salt

• 175g soft light brown sugar

• 2 large eggs, at room temperature

• 200ml vegetable oil, plus more for greasing

• 200g carrots, peeled and coarsely grated

• 100g walnut pieces, roughly chopped or crumbled

• 75g crystallised ginger, finely chopped

• For the icing:

• 100g unsalted butter, soft

• 100g icing sugar, sieved if lumpy

• 1 tsp cornflour

• 100g full-fat cream cheese, fridge-cold

• 1 x 15ml tbsp fresh ginger, coarsely grated

• To decorate:

• 25g walnut pieces, roughly chopped or crumbled

• 25g crystallised ginger, finely chopped

Directions

• Preheat: Preheat the oven to 170°C (150°C fan). Grease the sides and line the base of a 20cm springform tin with baking parchment.
• Mix the dry ingredients: Put the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger and salt into a bowl and fork well to mix.
• Make the batter: Beat the sugar, eggs and oil in a large bowl until fully combined, then gradually beat in the flour mixture, scraping the bowl to catch any clinging flour. The mixture may look alarmingly stiff, but the carrots loosen it. Beat in the carrots, then fold in the 100g walnuts and 75g crystallised ginger until evenly combined.
• Bake: Spoon into the tin and smooth the top; don’t worry if it looks like too little batter, as it rises well. Bake for 45-55 minutes, until set, golden, shrinking from the edges, and a tester comes out with just a few crumbs. Cool in the tin on a wire rack.
• Make the icing: While it bakes, beat the butter and icing sugar until creamy, then beat in the cornflour, then half the cream cheese, then the rest, taking care not to over-beat or it turns runny. Grate the fresh ginger, gather it in kitchen roll, and squeeze the juice out over the bowl. Beat the juice into the icing, cover and chill.
• Ice and decorate: When the cake is completely cold, take the icing out of the fridge for about 20 minutes to soften, then beat briefly until smooth. Release the cake from the tin onto a stand, spread the icing on top with a swirl, and scatter over the walnuts and ginger.

FAQs

How is this different from an American carrot cake?

Nigella’s is a single, rustic English teatime layer rather than the tall, aerated, richly sweet American style. The icing sits only on top, not sandwiched through the middle, so it’s lighter and less sugary overall. That also makes it smart enough to serve as a pudding at the end of dinner, not just with afternoon tea.

Why three kinds of ginger?

Each form does a different job: ground ginger warms the whole sponge, chopped crystallised ginger gives sweet, chewy nuggets, and fresh ginger juice sharpens the icing. Together they build a deep, layered ginger flavour that a single type couldn’t. Rub the sugar off the crystallised ginger before chopping, or it clumps into a jammy mess.

Why squeeze the fresh ginger instead of grating it in?

You want the ginger’s intense juice in the icing, not its stringy fibres. Grating it and pressing it in kitchen roll extracts that sharp juice while leaving the pulp behind, so the frosting stays smooth. It’s a small step, but it’s the difference between a clean ginger kick and fibrous threads.

How do I stop the cream cheese icing going runny?

Nigella’s tip is to stop beating the moment it comes together, since over-beating warms the cream cheese and slackens it. Use full-fat cream cheese fridge-cold, and the teaspoon of cornflour helps stabilise it. Chilling the finished icing before spreading, then softening it briefly, gives you a thick but spreadable consistency.

Can I make it ahead or freeze it?

The sponge keeps well for a few days in a tin thanks to the oil, which stays moist longer than butter. You can bake it a day ahead and ice it on the day you serve. The un-iced cake freezes well wrapped tightly; add the cream cheese icing after thawing, since it doesn’t freeze cleanly.

How does it compare to Mary Berry’s carrot cake?

They’re quite different takes. Nigella’s is a single rustic layer led by ginger, iced only on top, while Mary Berry’s carrot cake is a taller two-layer cake with pineapple and coconut and icing through the middle too. Berry’s is the fuller, sweeter teatime cake; Nigella’s is lighter and spicier, more of a dinner-party pudding.