Carrot & Orange Cake
- Preparation and cooking time
- Total time
- Easy
- Serves 12
Ingredients
- 175 g light muscovado sugar
- 150 ml sunflower oil
- 3 large eggs, beaten
- 160 g (fine to medium) grated carrot
- Grated zest of 1 large orange
- 100 g wholemeal self-raising flour
- 75 g self-raising flour
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (freshly ground cinnamon is best)
- 40 g chopped walnuts
For the Orange Glaze:
- Juice of 1 large orange
- 2 tablespoons of caster sugar
For the Frosting:
- 200 g cream cheese (low fat is better)
Icing sugar to taste (I have left the quantity for you to decide, some like it sweet, some prefer, like me, not so sweet)
- 1/2 teaspoon orange blossom essence
- chopped walnuts to sprinkle over the top
Method
- STEP 1Heat oven to 160 C (Fan). Put sugar, oil and beaten eggs into a large bowl, and thoroughly combine with a spoon, beating lightly
- STEP 2Stir in carrots, orange zest, and nuts
- STEP 3Mix flours, bicarbonate of soda, and cinnamon together, then sift into bowl and lightly mix.
- STEP 4Pour mixture into prepared tin (18 cm square loose bottomed, greased and lined with baking parchment)
- STEP 5Bake for 45 mins, and a wooden skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool in tin, but remove before decorating.
- STEP 6Squeeze the juice of the orange into a pan (sieve to remove all that isn't juice), and add sugar, and heat slowly until sugar has dissolved. As soon as cake is out of oven, brush the glaze all over the top of the cake and allow to soak in. Leave cake to cool completely, then remove from tin.
- STEP 7Mix together the cream cheese, icing sugar, and orange blossom essence. Add more icing sugar if you prefer it sweeter.
- STEP 8Spread the frosting all over the top of the cake, and swirl it a knife. Add chopped walnuts to decorate.
