Carrot Cake

Photo: © childsdesign

We hope not too many of you are on post festive diets otherwise this cake recipe might be seen as inappropriate for the moment. However, this is a cake with a difference, and we like to think that it contains enough good ingredients to make it wholesome enough to at least indulge in a little.

We added our own twist to Yare Valley Oils’ recipe (which features on their website). Usually carrot cakes use sunflower oil but this recipe uses the liquid gold that is Yare Valley Oils Extra Virgin Coldpressed Rapeseed Oil. The oil has a wonderfully nutty flavour and is packed with omega 3 and vitamin E, so along with the heap of grated carrots, the cake should be (dare we say) quite good for you!

Ingredients

• 175ml extra virgin cold pressed rapeseed oil
• 175g light soft brown sugar
• 3 eggs (medium sized)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 110g chopped walnuts
• 225g grated carrots
• 100g raisins
• 175g spelt flour (you could use wholemeal or white)
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• pinch salt

Icing

• 75g soft cheese
• 50g butter (softened)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• grated zest of 1 orange
• 110g icing sugar

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C / Gas 4.
Grease and line an 20cm round tin (6cm deep). A loose bottomed one is useful.
Beat the oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla thoroughly.
Add carrots, walnuts, raisins and the rest of the dry ingredients and beat well.

Pour the mixture into the tin and cook for approximately 45 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. The time may vary depending on your oven and could take an hour.

Take the cake out of the oven and leave to cool slightly in the tin before removing and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

For the frosting beat together all the butter, cream cheese, icing sugar, vanilla extract and orange zest and decorate the top of your carrot cake.

For lactose free frosting replace cheese and butter with 2 tablespoons of orange juice.

To find out more about more about Yare Valley Oils visit their page on
The Artisan Food Trail here