Recipe 2 of 3 is some dessert to go with the meal I made with the first recipe. We love carrot cake, but I wanted something a little more than just standard carrot cake. So I decided to make a carrot cake with streusel on top. Once cooked, I realized I still wanted the cream cheese icing, so I added a bit of that…yes, you will gain 5 lbs with each slice you eat. Haha. I did a few small adjustments to the recipe below, mostly thinning out the icing so that it is more of a glaze to drizzle. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

CAKE

~ 1/2 cup butter, room temperature

~ 1/2 cup brown sugar

~ 1/2 cup granulated sugar

~ 1-1/2 tsp baking powder

~ Pinch of salt

~ 1-1/2 cups flour

~ 1 tsp cinnamon

~ 1/2 tsp ground ginger

~ 1/4 tsp mace (nutmeg can be used instead)

~ 3 eggs

~ 1 tsp vanilla extract

~ 1/2 cup milk or coconut milk for extra flavour

~ 2 cups grated carrot

~ 1/2 cup of nuts (your choice, I used almonds)

~ 1/2 cup of currants or raisins

STREUSEL

~ 1 cup of flour

~ 1/2 cup of butter

~ 3/4 cup of granulated augar

~ 1/2 tsp of cinnamon

~ 1/8 tsp of mace or nutmeg

~ 1/8 tsp of ground ginger

~ 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (your choice)

CREAM CHEESE GLAZE

~ 1/4 cup of cream cheese, softwned

~ 1/4 cup of powdered sugar

~ 1/4 tsp of vanilla extract

~ 4 tbsp of milk (add more for thinner consistency)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Add parchment paper to the bottom portion of a 9” springform pan. Butter the springform pan ring.

3. In a small bowl, mix all of the streusel ingredients. Mix together until the consistency is pea sized balls. Set aside.

4. Cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy, approx 5 minutes.

5. Add the eggs, one at a time. Mix each egg into the mixture until fully incorporated before adding the next one.

6. Add the vanilla extract, spices and baking powder.

7. Add the milk and flour by adding small bits at a time, alternating between the two.

8. Fold in the grated carrot, nuts and currants (or radon’s if you prefer).

9. Pour the batter into your prepared pan. Spread for an even later.

10. Top with the streusel topping, spreading for an even layer. Don’t press into the cake batter.

11. Bake for 55 minutes. The top should be lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the centre should come out clean.

12. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes before releasing the ring. Let the cake completely cool before glazing.

13. For the glaze, mix the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a bowl. As it thickens, add milk to bring it to the consistency you would like. I would recommend on the runny side. You don’t want it so thick that it won’t drizzle (as my photo shows, mine was a little thick). Add the vanilla.

14. Slice and enjoy!

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