Carrot, hazelnut and spelt cake with hazelnut gelato

SERVES 8 // PREP TIME 40 MINS // COOK 1 HR 20 MINS (PLUS FREEZING, RESTING)

“The town of Chioggia, commonly referred to as

‘Little Venice’, has been very important to Venice throughout history,” says Zoccali. “It supplies her with superpremium, fresh seafood and its highly sought-after carrots.”

HAZELNUT GELATO

670 ml milk

145 gm caster sugar

30 gm skim-milk powder 50 gm dextrose (see note) 100 gm hazelnut paste

(see note)

CHOCOLATE ICING 200 gm dark chocolate

(70% cocoa solids) 200 ml thickened cream CARROT, HAZELNUT AND SPELT CAKE

5 eggs, separated

220 gm (1 cup) caster sugar 410 gm coarsely grated carrot 295 gm ground hazelnuts 60 gm spelt flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp ground cinnamon 20 ml rum

1 tsp vanilla-bean paste

1 For hazelnut gelato, half fill the base pan of a double boiler with water and bring to a simmer. Place milk in double boiler over medium heat. When milk reaches 40°C on a pastry thermometer, add dry ingredients and raise heat to 65°C. Continue cooking for 30 minutes at 65°C, stirring regularly. Blend mixture with a stick blender, then churn in an ice-cream machine to -4°C. Freeze until required.

2 Meanwhile, for icing, place chocolate in a heatproof bowl. Bring cream to a simmer in a saucepan over low heat, then pour cream over chocolate and leave to stand for 30 seconds, then stir through. Cover and leave at room temperature until thickened (2 hours). 3 For cake, preheat oven to 160°C and grease a 25cm springform cake tin. Whisk eggwhites and a pinch of salt in a stainless-steel bowl until light and fluffy soft peaks form. Slowly add 75gm sugar, increasing speed to high, until stiff peaks form. In another bowl, beat egg yolks and 60ml hot water with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and foamy. Slowly add remaining sugar and then beat on high speed until pale and thick (3 minutes). In another bowl, combine carrot, ground hazelnuts, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, rum and vanillabean paste. Fold eggwhites into the whipped egg yolks until combined, then fold into the carrot mixture in two batches.

4 Pour batter into prepared tin. Bake until cooked and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake withdraws clean

(50 minutes). Remove from tin and cool on a wire rack. Using a spatula, spread the chocolate icing evenly over cake. Serve with gelato.

Note Dextrose and hazelnut paste can be bought at select delicatessens and grocers.