Cake Expectations

Photo © Rob Jones

Was listening this morning to a story about the veg price wars in the run up to Christmas.

The supermarkets are falling over each other to discount veg - to a ridiculous extent. A bag of carrots for less than 10 pence. You have to wonder why they don’t do it all year round. Then perhaps people might opt for a healthier diet? I wonder.

So, I always have an eye for a bargain, and then have to drag my prey home and decide what to do with it afterwards. However, I do have rather a winning recipe for carrot cake which with a few tweaks can also pass as a Christmas special.treat. It’s a melange of many favourite recipes.

I shall call it - Festive Carrot Cake.

You will need:

200g of Carrots, finely chopped.

200g of Plain Flour

Heaped tablespoon of Ground Almonds

Teaspoon of Ground Ginger

2 Tea Spoons of Baking Powder

A large pinch of coarse Sea Salt

175g of Brown Sugar of any description

A Tablespoon of Turmeric

A generous Squeeze of Maple or Golden Syrup

A handful each of Cranberries, Crystallised Ginger, and Crushed Walnuts.

2 Eggs

200ml of vegetable Oil

Method:

Mix all the dried ingredients together in a bowl. Add the eggs and mix in well. Then the syrup, and finally the nuts and fruit. Tip into a baking tray at least and inch deep.

Cook on about 150 C. Check on it occasionally. It’s done when you can plunge ina a knife and the blade comes out clean. If it looks like te top is done, pop a bit of greaseproof paper or foil over the top.

It comes out remarkably light and fruity, yet still recognisabley a Carrot Cake.