Carrot & cardamom cake SERVES 10
Time required: 40 minutes prep; 20 minutes to decorate Baking time: 30–35 minutes, plus cooling Optimum oven position and setting: below centre and fan Essential equipment: Two 23cm/9 inch non-stick springform cake tins, greased and lined with nonstick baking parchment INGREDIENTS 340g carrots, peeled and finely grated 200g seedless raisins 8 green cardamom pods 3 large eggs 150g caster sugar 50g soft light brown sugar 180ml corn oil 1 tsp vanilla extract finely grated zest of 2 oranges 180g plain flour 1 tsp baking powder ½ tsp fine salt 1½ tsp ground cinnamon, plus extra for dusting ½ tsp ground ginger
For the frosting 600g full-fat soft cream cheese 300g icing sugar 250ml double cream For the candied nuts 150g granulated sugar 150ml water 30 walnut halves 30 pecan halves
This is the daddy of all cakes as far as I’m concerned. It is said that the carrot cake dates back to medieval times and was originally known as a carrot pudding. Carrot was used as a sweetener in Britain when sugar was hard to come by. Nowadays sugar is also used, but the carrot gives the cake an amazingly moist texture. My two-layered version includes raisins and a mixture of different spices in the sponge mix. It is completely shrouded in a cream cheese frosting, and topped with candied walnuts and pecans. METHOD
Preheat the oven to 160°C fan/180°C/ 320°F/gas 4. Squeeze out any excess liquid from the carrots and place them in a bowl. Stir in the raisins and set aside. Crack open the cardamom pods and crush the seeds to a powder, using a mortar and pestle. Set aside. Weigh your empty mixing bowl and make a note of it. Put the eggs and both sugars into the bowl and whisk for 4–5 minutes until thick and the whisk leaves a thick ribbon trail when lifted out. Add the corn oil, vanilla and orange zest, and beat well for a minute. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom. Gradually add this to the cake mixture, beating well between each addition until well mixed. Don’t overwork the mixture. Fold in the grated carrots and raisins, using a large metal spoon, until evenly mixed. Weigh your bowl again and subtract the weight of the empty bowl. Divide the mixture evenly between the two prepared tins by placing them on your scales when pouring it in. Place both tins in the oven on the same shelf. Bake for 30–35 minutes. Check the cakes after 30 minutes: a skewer inserted into the centre should come out completely clean and the cakes should have shrunk away from the sides slightly. They may need a couple more minutes. continues overleaf...
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