​INGREDIENTS

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• 3 medium eggs (room temperature)

• 150g butter

• 50g melted butter (cooled)

• 180g flour

• 100 almond meal

• 2tsp baking powder

• 1 1/2tsp baking soda

• 1tsp cinnamon

• pinch of salt

• 250g grated carrots

• 250g apple sauce

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• 200g quark or light natural yogurt

• 200g whipping cream

• 4 gelatine leafs

• 60-90g sugar (to taste)

• 3-4 canned peach halves cubed into small pieces

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• 5 egg whites

• 200g sugar

• 250g butter

• 1tsp vanilla paste/extract

 

• fondant and edible paint for decoration

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DIRECTIONS

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1. Whisk the eggs with sugar in a standing mixer or with a hand mixer for about 10 minutes. Check whether you have whisked long enough by drawing an eight on the surface of the bowl and if the figure remains for a couple of seconds it is ready. Otherwise continue whisking for a little longer. Then add the cooled melted butter and continue whisking for a minute.

2. Combine all dry ingredients and fold in gently with the eggs. Be careful not to mix too vigorously to avoid destroying the airiness of the eggs. Mix until just combined.

3. Combine the grated carrots with the apple sauce and add to the rest of the ingredients folding in just until combined.

4. Butter four 15 or 16 cm baking tins and divide the batter evenly between them. Bake for 30-40 minutes in 175°C bottom top heat. Before removing from the oven, check with a toothpick that the cake layers have baked through.

5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes before removing from the baking tins and allowing to cool completely on the cooling rack.

6. Allow the cake layers to cool completely before you start decorating the cake, better overnight in the fridge wrapped in cling film. When you allow the cake layers to rest in the fridge overnight, they become softer and moister.

7. To make the filling whip the cream until stiff and then combine with the quark and sugar. Dissolve gelatin as instructed on the package and combine with the cream mix. Using a cake ring start layering the cake.

8. Take one layer of carrot cake, place a cake ring around it, add 1/3 of the cream and top with 1/3 of the cubed peaches. Then cover with second layer of cake and repeat the previous steps. Once you have all the layers ready cover the cake with cling film and refrigerate for at least 5-6 hours or better overnight.

9. For the swiss meringue buttercream, combine the egg whites and sugar in a big bowl and heat over a water bath with a thermometer until it reaches 65°C. While heating make sure to whisk the egg whites continuously or the eggs will start to cook and you will end up with scrambled eggs. Once reached 65°C remove from heat and whisk with a standing mixer or a hand mixer until the bowl feels cool to touch. Then add vanilla paste and the soft butter, and continue whisking until you reach a smooth buttercream texture. If you notice that at some point during whisking, the buttercream looks like it has curdled, don´t worry, just continue mixing and it will fix itself.

10. Decorate the cake with the buttercream and the fondant details as instructed in the step-by-step video tutorial above.

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TIP. Making the Swiss meringue buttercream can seem to be challenging, but trust me, it is not, you just need to remember a few things. Make sure that your meringue mix has cooled before you add the butter, because if it is still warm the butter will start to melt. Then make sure the butter is really soft and room temperature when you add it, cold butter will not mix in smoothly and will make the mix curdle. When you get these two right, you will also get the buttercream right. Swiss meringue buttercream is very light and soft and great for decorating cakes. It is also not as sweet and buttery as the traditional American buttercream.

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