Spari Gulrótakaka

Holiday carrot cake

The Icelandic word "spari" means "on special occasions", "spariföt" are Sunday dresses, "spariskór" are holiday shoes - and this carrot cake is also intended for particularly festive occasions.

We had it for a very special occasion, namely the baptism of our first grandchild last weekend. And we had a lavish family celebration with 4 generations from the three great-grandmothers to the child being baptized.


Ingredients

For the dough

300 g butter
280 g flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baker's ammonia
1 tsp cinnamon
280 g brown sugar
1 pinch of ground vanilla
4 eggs
5 medium carrots
70 g coconut flakes
approx. 280 g canned grated pineapple
grated orange peel

For the cream

650 g cream cheese
150 g white chocolate
100 g soft butter
240 g powdered sugar
grated orange peel
grated lemon peel

2 Tbsp chopped pistachios


Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C) upper/lower heat.

Melt the butter and let it cool down a little.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix the flour with the baking powder, baker's ammonia and cinnamon.

Add the sugar and ground vanilla.

Separate the eggs and fold the yolks with the melted butter into the sugar-flour mixture.

Beat the egg white until stiff and chill in the refrigerator.

Wash, peel and grate the carrots.

Add the grated carrots, pineapple pieces and grated orange peel and stir.

Finally add the egg whites...

...and fold it into the dough.

Then put the dough into two greased springform pans or ones lined with baking paper and bake in a preheated oven at 350 °F (180 °C) upper and lower heat for about 30 minutes.

Then take it out of the oven and let it cool down well.

To make the cream, first melt the chocolate in a water bath and let it cool down again.

Then stir the butter in a separate bowl until fluffy. Then add the powdered sugar and stir. Add the melted chocolate to the butter and sugar mixture.

Also stir in the cream cheese and mix with the grated orange and lemon peel.

Pour half of the cream onto the first layer and spread it out.

Place the second floor on top...

...and spread with the remaining cream.

Decorate the cake with the chopped pistachios.

Let the cream set in the refrigerator and then serve the cake well chilled.

[Translated from here.]