Impressive in appearance and delightful in its spicy flavor, this carrot-pumpkin cake is incredibly delicious.
Ingredients
Carrot-pumpkin sponge
- Brown sugar – 150 g
- Carrots – 2 pcs.
- Hokkaido pumpkin – 0.5 pc.
- Eggs – 2 pcs.
- Wheat flour – 250 g
- Sunflower oil – 100 ml
- Baking powder – 1 teaspoon
- Gingerbread spice – 1 teaspoon
- Grated orange zest – 0.5 tablespoon
- Baking soda – 0.5 teaspoon
Filling
- Powdered sugar – 1 tablespoon
- Vanilla flavored cream cheese – 800 g
- Grated orange zest – 0.5 tablespoon
- Orange juice – 125 ml
- 30% Cream – 200 ml
- Gelatin – 2 teaspoons
For decoration
- White fondant – 150 g
- Black fondant – 50 g
- Dark chocolate – 100 g
- Caramel – 100 g
- Cornstarch – 2 tablespoons
- Pecans – 200 g
- Orange juice – 60 ml
- Maple syrup – 30 ml
Additionally
- Butter – 15 g
- Wheat flour – 2 tablespoons
Preparation
Beat the eggs with brown sugar in a mixer for about 3-4 minutes. In a bowl, combine wheat flour with gingerbread spice, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the eggs beaten with sugar. Add pumpkin puree (about 150 g), grated carrot (about 100 g), grated orange zest, and sunflower oil. Mix using a kitchen whisk.
Transfer the batter to a cake pan greased with butter and dusted with wheat flour. Bake for about 40-45 minutes in an oven preheated to 170°C. Towards the end of baking, pierce the sponge cake with a long wooden skewer. If the skewer comes out dry, the sponge cake is ready.
Remove the baked sponge cake from the oven and let it cool. Mix pecans with maple syrup in a bowl. Stir well. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 8-10 minutes in an oven preheated to 160°C. Let them cool. Soak gelatin in orange juice, stir, and set aside. Whip the well-chilled cream in a mixer.
Transfer vanilla flavored cream cheese to a bowl. Add powdered sugar sifted through a sieve, grated orange zest, and whipped cream. Gently mix everything using a kitchen whisk. Set the filling aside in a cool place (not in the refrigerator to prevent it from setting) while preparing the decorations.
Knead the black fondant in your hands until it becomes pliable. Divide it into 3 equal parts. Form each part into a ball. Insert long toothpicks into each ball of fondant. Knead the white fondant in the same way. Divide it into 3 equal parts. Roll out each part on a surface dusted with cornstarch. Shape the thin white fondant sheets in your hands to resemble ruffles around the edges.
Poke 3 holes in each rolled-out white fondant sheet to create eyes and a mouth for the ghosts (the holes should be slightly below the middle of the sheet). Place the white fondant ghosts on the black fondant balls, lightly pressing to combine the fondants, and shape them to give the decorations the desired form.
Place the tree template under a sheet of plastic wrap for making chocolate decorations, leaving more free space at the bottom. temper it, and transfer it to a piping bag. Cut off the tip of the bag. Pipe the melted chocolate, outlining the tree on the plastic wrap. Fill in the outline with chocolate. At the bottom of the tree, draw a chocolate-filled triangle, which, once the decoration is set, will serve as a mounting element for the tree on the cake. Set aside to allow the chocolate tree to set. Dissolve the soaked gelatin in the microwave and let it cool, stirring. Transfer a bit of the filling to a bowl with gelatin to temper it. Mix and add everything back to the bowl with the filling.
Even out the cooled sponge cake, trimming the top, then cut it into 3 equal layers. Place the bottom layer in a cake pan and lightly drizzle with freshly squeezed orange juice. Spread a portion of the filling over it, cover with another sponge cake layer. Lightly drizzle the second layer with freshly squeezed orange juice as well. Spread another portion of the filling, covering it with the remaining sponge cake layer. Spread the last portion of the filling on top of the cake. Smooth out the filling on top using a silicone spatula.
Chill the cake in the refrigerator for about 2 hours until the filling sets. Transfer caramel to a piping bag and randomly pipe it on the set cake. Arrange pre-baked pecans on top of the caramel. Gently slice the top of the cake. Place the set chocolate tree in the slice. Insert the fondant ghosts on toothpicks into the cake next to the tree.
