Brilliant Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake is a dessert favorite for me. As I tend to take after my German ancestors and bear the burden of an underdeveloped sweet tooth, falling in love with dessert is a rare experience. Most days I'd happily take a crispy dill pickle or briny black olive in lieu of a cookie or cupcake. But this Carrot Cake that I recently tried stands so far above its dry, over-spiced competitors that I'm prepared to never look back.

I've come across a few recipes that employ an embarrassing single cup of carrot or use vegetable oil instead of butter. Jamie Oliver's recipe (from Cook with Jamie, currently my favorite and never out of arm's reach) uses a laudable 10 ounces of carrot and incorporates orange and ground almond in the batter. The lime mascarpone icing is a major contribution to the brilliance of this cake with the lightness of the mascarpone and the freshness of the lime zest complimenting the sweet and delicate spice of the cake.

CARROT CAKE WITH LIME MASCARPONE ICING

• 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 2 cups light-brown sugar
• 5 large eggs, separated (retain yolk and white)
  
• Zest and juice of 1 orange
• 1 slightly heaped teaspoon baking powder
• 1 heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of ground cloves
• Pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 cup ground almonds (almond meal in some stores)
  
• 4 ounces shelled walnuts, chopped, plus more for garnish
• 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour, sifted
• 10 ounces carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
• Sea salt
• 4 ounces mascarpone cheese
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 scant cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
• Zest and juice of two lime

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x9x2 inch baking pan and line with parchment paper. (Questionable at first, but definitely makes life easier). Set aside.
2. Process butter and brown sugar (use your kitchen aid or Cuisinart), then add egg yolks one at a time allowing each to incorporate. Add orange zest and juice, then baking powder and all your spices, combine well.
3. In a separate bowl whisk egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form. Gently fold in almonds, walnuts, flour, and carrots; fold cake mixture into egg white mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 minutes to 1 hour. Let cake cool in the pan 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
4. In a medium bowl, mix together mascarpone, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and lime zest and juice. Place cake on your favorite dish, spread icing over top of cooled cake and sprinkle with chopped walnuts.