Carrot patch cake
This cake tastes great on the day it’s made, but even better a day or two later.
Serves 10-12 Prep 25 mins plus cooling Cook 1 hr 10 mins uniced
175ml vegetable oil, plus extra for the tin 75g natural yogurt
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
200g self-raising flour
250g light muscovado sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ fresh nutmeg, finely grated
200g carrots (about 3), grated
100g sultanas or raisins
100g pistachios, finely chopped (or use
slivered pistachios, if available)
FOR THE ICING
100g slightly salted butter, softened
200g icing sugar
100g full-fat soft cheese
50g fondant icing or marzipan drop of orange food colouring
1 Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
Oil a 900g loaf tin and line with baking parchment. Whisk the oil, yogurt, eggs and vanilla together in a jug. Mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg with a large pinch of salt, squeezing any lumps of sugar with your fingers and shaking the bowl a few times to bring them to the surface.
2 Add the wet ingredients to the dry, along with the carrots, raisins and half the pistachios. Mix well to combine, then scrape into the tin. Bake for 1 hr 10 mins, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. If any wet mixture clings to the skewer, bake for 5 mins more, then check again. Leave to cool in the tin.
3 To make the icing, beat the butter and sugar together until smooth. Add half the soft cheese and beat again, then add the rest (adding it a little at a time prevents the icing from splitting). Remove the cooled cake from the tin and spread the icing thickly on top. Scatter with some of the remaining pistachios. Knead a drop of food colouring into the fondant until it is orange. Roll it into small carrot shapes, then use a skewer to make indentations in the fat end. Poke a few pistachios in to these for leaves. Top the cake with the carrots. Will keep chilled for up to five days (eat at room temperature).
PER SERVING (12) 546 kcals, fat 30g, saturates 8g,
carbs 63g, sugars 49g, fibre 3g, protein 6g, salt 0.5g