Carrot Cake

(Good Food magazine June 2010)

 

I am replicating the recipe as it appears in the magazine, however I had some trouble (all of my own making!) with the cinnamon frosting. I didn't let my butter get soft enough and consequently when I beat it, even with an electric beater there were still visible lumps left! As an alternative I mixed up the remaining soft cheese from the pack (about 50g) with some icing sugar and the result is delicious!

 

zest and juice of 1 orange

50g sultanas

150ml sunflower oil, plus extra for greasing

2 eggs

140g soft light brown sugar

85g wholemeal self-raising flour (whoops - I used wholemeal plain, but you can't tell!)

85g self-raising flour

2 tsp ground mixed spice

2 tsp fround cinnamon

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

140g carrots, coarsely grated

50g chopped walnuts plus a few halves to decorate

ICING -

200g soft cheese

50g butter, softened

85g icing sugar, sifted

pinch ground cinnamon

 

1. If you have time to do it the night before, put the orange zest and juice in a bowl with the sultanas. If not, on the day simply stir the zest, juice and sultanas together and microwave on medium for 1-2 minutes.

 

2. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and grease and line the base and sides of a 2lb loaf tin. Whisk together the oil and eggs. Mix the sugar, flours, mixed spice, cinnamon and bicarb in your largest mixing bowl. Add the sultanas with any juice and zest left in the bowl, grated carrot, walnuts and whisked egg mixture ito the dry ingredients, then thoroughly mix with a wooden spoon. Tip into the loaf tin and bake on the middle shelf for 1 hour, or until a skewer comes out clean (it took an hour in my fan oven). Cool the cake in the tin.

 

3. Once cool, remove from the tin and make the icing. With an electric whisk, beat together the soft cheese, butter, icing sugar and cinnamon until smooth. Spread over the top of the cake and decorate with walnut halves.

Done