Carrot cake tray bake

Another request from my husband Jesse and one that is much devoured by all of us in the Wood household. Who doesn’t love a carrot cake? This tray bake is an all-time classic to serve up to hungry visitors who pop over for tea, or to be selfishly eaten on your own with massive mugs of tea. It is again another wonderful way to get some veg in your diet in a really delicious way.

SERVES 10 225g white spelt flour 2 tsp baking powder 1½ tsp ground cinnamon, plus extra for sprinkling ½ tsp ground nutmeg 1 tsp ground ginger 60g raisins pinch of sea salt 3 eggs, beaten 180g coconut oil, melted 120g coconut palm sugar 360g carrots, peeled and coarsely grated 2 oranges, zest of 1 and peel of the other FOR THE ICING 250g cream cheese, or dairy-free alternative 2 tbsp set honey

♥ Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/400F/gas 6 and line a 28cm x 20cm tray bake tin with baking parchment. ♥ In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, raisins and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, melted coconut oil, coconut palm sugar, carrots and grated zest. ♥ Add the wet mixture to the dry flour mixture and thoroughly combine. Pour this into the cake tin and smooth out. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until golden and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cover with foil if it is browning too quickly. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 20 minutes, then carefully remove the cake and leave to cool completely on a wire rack. ♥ Meanwhile, combine the cream cheese and honey. (If you are using dairy-free cream cheese that is quite runny, reduce the amount of honey so the mixture remains thick.) Once the cake is cool, spread the icing over the cake. Finely slice the orange peel and sprinkle over. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.