When I was young, I had more of a sweet tooth. These days, I still sometimes like a little something small to end meals but tend not to actually eat in-between. Luckily, there exists a cake as adaptable as you need it to be, whether with morning coffee, afternoon tea, a casual occasion or just part of a workday bento.
The term “snacking cake” has an adorable je ne sais quoi. This is a simple cake made with common ingredients, lightly adorned (if at all), made as a single layer, usually square and most often cut likewise. Brooklyn food stylist Yossy Arefi claims to have not coined the phrase but has an entire cookbook devoted to the subject.
Joining in the fun, what follows is my take on the sort of moist cake I wish was more widely available in Japan, just pared back to basics.
This carrot cake is lightly spiced, enriched with fresh ginger and two types of Japanese black sugar. It could not be simpler, but note that it may not look like other cake batters you’ve made in the past — that is, until right before baking. The dry goes in first, then the butter and egg, but not until the carrot is added will it look like a regular batter. The carrot is nearly half of the batter’s mass and contains most of the necessary liquid.
As a snack, I have opted to dust simply with powdered sugar. Should you wish to mix together butter, cream cheese and powdered sugar at a ratio of 1-to-2-to-4 with a touch of vanilla or lemon, or if you prefer round cakes, or any other shape for that matter, who am I to say how you should snack?
Serves 8
Prep time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
- 150 grams all-purpose
- 150 grams kokutō brown sugar
- 5 grams baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 large egg
- 60 grams butter (room temp)
- 10 grams fresh ginger, grated
- 300 grams carrots, grated
- 25 grams kuromitsu syrup (or molasses)
- 60 grams walnuts, chopped or broken)
Directions:
1. Into a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, sugar, baking soda and cinnamon. Crack the egg into the bowl and add your softened butter, mixing until it forms moistened crumbs.
2. Add the grated ginger, carrot, molasses and walnuts, then combine until the carrot releases enough juice for the mixture to become a thick batter. This may take a minute or so of mixing.
3. Spread this mixture onto a paper-lined, 25-by-25-centimeter square tin and bake at 160 degrees Celsius for 35 minutes. If a toothpick comes out clean when pressed into the cake, it’s cooked through.
4. Leave to cool, sprinkle with powdered sugar and slice as desired.
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