Heart shaped Carrot Cake with Raspberries and Lime

Carrot cake may not sound like the most romantic treat  for your valentine.
But baked in a heart shaped pan you have the perfect treat/dessert for all the sweet hearts in your life. You can use your favorite cake and frosting recipe making sure it will fill a heart shaped pan approximately 12 inches (24 cm) in diameter. I covered the sides of the cake with a mix of ground walnuts and raw sugar (shaved chocolate would be good too!). The raspberries and lime shavings on top don't just look pretty. They added a very delicious and fresh element to the cake. Happy baking!

Here is the recipe I followed this time. It is from a Norwegian site with the measurements in metric. You will need a scale for this recipe. If you don't have one I have previously posted a carrot cake recipe here that would work as well.

For the cake:
3 eggs
200 grams sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
250 grams all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
Zest of 1/2 lime
1 deciliter vegetable oil
300 grams grated carrot (6-8 carrots depending on size)
150 grams coarsely ground walnuts

For the frosting:
125 grams (about 1/2 block) 1/3-fat cream cheese, softened
100 grams powdered sugar
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon lime juice

For decoration:
150 grams raspberries
Lime zest
100 grams ground walnuts
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter and lightly flour your pan. Grate the carrots and set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip eggs, sugar and vanilla until pale and foamy. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, cinnamon and baking powder. Carefully fold flour mixture into the egg mixture together with the oil, lime zest and carrots. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake at 350 on the lowest rack of oven for about 50 minutes. Check for doneness. A few more minutes of baking may be needed. Cool in pan a few minutes and turn onto a rack to cool completely before coating with the frosting.

Mix all the frosting ingredients together until smooth. Cover top and sides of cake with frosting using an offset spatula.

Mix ground walnuts and sugar together. Pat mixture around the sides of the cake. Decorate top with raspberries and lime zest.

Enjoy!