Do you like experimenting with your kitchen creations? With In the Kitchen, Yello is bringing you some great recipes to try out from some of Jamaica’s most talented chefs.

Jamal Small is the best chef in the Caribbean right now. At the 2018 Taste of the Caribbean competition held in Miami, he was the overall winner for Chef of the Year. In this installment of In the Kitchen, Jamal shares the recipe for his award-winning spiced carrot cake with dark rum frosting.

This dessert will knock the socks off anyone you’re baking for!

Here’s the recipe

Cooking time: One hour

Yield: One cake or three (9-inch) layers

Ingredients:

Cake

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 ½ cups vegetable oil

1 tbsp. molasses

4 whole eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp ground mace (a spice derived from nutmeg)

¼ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground clove

¼ tsp allspice

3 cups raw, finely ground carrots

Frosting

1 ½ pounds powdered sugar

12 ounces room temperature cream cheese

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

2 ounces room temperature butter

2 tbsp. dark rum

Directions

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 300°F.

In a mixing bowl, mix sugar, molasses, vegetable oil, and eggs. In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and powder, salt, and spices. Fold dry ingredients into wet mixture and blend well. Fold in carrots until well blended. Distribute batter evenly into three 9-inch cake layer pans, which have been generously greased. There will be approximately one pound five ounces of batter per pan. (nelsonjsalon.com) Place in pre-heated oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes. Cool layers in pans for approximately one hour.

To remove the layers from the baking pan, turn upside down, tap edge of pan on a hard surface. Centre a 9-inch cake circle on top of revolving cake stand. Remove paper from bottom of layer cake.

For the frosting: 

In a large mixer, place powdered sugar, cream cheese, vanilla, rum, and butter. Beat at second speed until thoroughly blended. Keep refrigerated and use as needed.

For the assembly: 

Place first layer, bottom-side down, at centre of cake stand. With a spatula, evenly spread approximately 3 ½ ounces of frosting on the layer. Centre second layer on top of first layer with topside down. Again, with a spatula, evenly spread approximately 3 ½ounces of frosting on the layer. Centre third layer on top of second layer with topside down. Using both hands, press firmly but gently, all layers together to get one firm cake. With spatula, spread remainder of frosting to cover top and sides of cake. Refrigerate until needed. Display on counter or cake stand with a plastic cover.

Happy baking!