Easter is all about gathering, feasting, and sharing good food with the people you love. And what better way to impress your guests than with a delicious dessert?

Food and lifestyle creator Amanda Maiorano (@madeby.mandy) has shared her go-to Easter favourite: a Triple Tiered Carrot Cake. Perfectly spiced, and topped with a silky cream cheese frosting, it’s a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.

Serves: 10-12

Ingredients

For the Cake:

450g plain flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp bicarb soda

1 tsp salt

1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp mixed spice

480ml vegetable oil

320g brown sugar

200g caster sugar

6 eggs

3 tsp vanilla extract

475g grated carrots

180g walnuts, roughly chopped (optional: toasted for extra flavour)

For the Frosting:

340g cream cheese, at room temperature

170g unsalted butter, at room temperature

150g icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Zest of 1 lemon

For Decorating:

40g walnuts, finely crushed

100g mini-Easter eggs

Baking the Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and line three 20cm round cake tins with baking paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, bicarb soda, salt, cinnamon, and mixed spice.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the brown sugar, caster sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract until combined.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, stirring gently until just combined. Fold in the grated carrots and walnuts. Make sure not to over mix the batter at this stage.
5. Divide the batter evenly among the three tins and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
6. Let the cakes cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before icing.

For the Frosting:

1. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth with an electric mixer.
2. Gradually add the icing sugar, beating until light and fluffy.
3. Mix in the vanilla extract, salt, and lemon zest.

Assembling the Cake:

1. Place the first layer of cake on a serving plate and spread an even layer of frosting.
2. Repeat with the second and third layers, covering the entire cake with frosting.
3. Garnish with crushed walnuts and mini-Easter eggs.

Here’s a time saving tip to help make your Easter get together one to remember. When you’re setting the table, why not use your show stopping Carrot Cake as the centre piece?  It’s edible art.

Head into Altona Gate to grab everything you need for this delicious Easter treat.