Chef Vanessa Musi’s Carrot Biscoff Cake

Ingredients

Ingredients: Makes one 8” cake

• 2 large eggs, organic, room temperature
• 5 gr vanilla extract or paste
• 56 gr cane sugar
• 56 gr brown sugar or coconut sugar
• 150 ml coconut oil melted (¾ cup) or avocado oil 
• 3 medium carrots finely grated (1 ½ cups)
• 150 gr Spelt flour (or Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free all purpose flour)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 0.5 gr/ ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 4 gr baking powder 
• 1 gr/ ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 4 gr/ 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 50 gr chopped pecans
• 50 gr yellow raisins, raisins or currants

Vanilla bean cream cheese frosting:

• 60 gr unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 200 gr cream cheese (room temperature)
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla bean powder
• 40 gr confectioner’s sugar
• generous pinch of Maldon salt
• ¼ cup Biscoff or Speculoos spread (store bought) melted to drizzle

Biscoff crumble:

• 35 gr finely ground Biscoff cookies
• 35 gr unsalted butter
• 35 gr spelt flour
• 35 gr almond flour
• 35 gr brown sugar
• Generous pinch Maldon salt
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

Prepare Cake:

1. Preheat a convection oven to 340°F.
2. Lime the bottom of two 8” cake pans with 8” Round Silpats. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and spices.
3. In a stand mixer at medium speed: whisk eggs, vanilla and sugars until light and fluffy. Add oil and mix to combine. Add carrots, raisins and pecans. Add flour and mix until integrated.
4. Pour batter evenly into the 2 prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean aprox 15 mins, depending on the pan and oven. Let cool
5. Remove cakes from pans, let cool completely. Put each layer onto a cake plate. Fill and top with the frosting, drizzle melted Biscoff or Speculoos Spread on the sides and decorate with the crumble.

Prepare the frosting:

1. In a stand mixer with a paddle: mix butter, confectioner sugar, vanilla, salt and cream cheese until creamy. Don’t over mix.

Prepare crumble:

1. Mix all ingredients by hand in a bowl until a streusel or crumble is formed. Refrigerate while you preheat the oven.
2. Bake on a Silpat over a perforated tray at 340 F until golden. Let cool. This can be done several days before.