Recipes from Jane - Carrot cake

This recipe is perfect for a birthday cake and a great excuse to go to town on the decoration. If you want a bigger cake, bake two and sandwich them together with extra topping before covering the outside. Such a pretty cake (and one of Maya's favourites), full of goodness as well as being a delicious accompaniment to a cup of tea or a glass of fresh juice. And if you're looking for a nutritional reason to indulge in this delicious cake, look no further than the fibre-rich carrots, wholemeal flour, and calcium-rich mascarpone cheese topping!

Carrot cake

Preparation time: about 30 minutes

Cooking time: 1 hour and 15 minutes

Ingredients

300g wholemeal flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon mixed spice

175ml olive oil

150ml apple concentrate

2 medium eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons maple syrup

175g grated carrot

1 apple, grated

Handful of sultanas

For the topping

250g mascarpone cheese

2 tablespoons natural yoghurt

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 teaspoons vanilla essence

Zest of 1 orange and a squeeze of the juice

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180ºC / gas mark 4
• Grease a round baking tin (20cm in diameter) and line the base with baking paper.
• Mix the flour, baking powder and spices together in a large mixing bowl.
• Mix the olive oil, apple concentrate, eggs and maple syrup together in a jug and pour over the dry ingredients.
• Stir well.
• Add the grated carrot, apple and sultanas to the mixture, gently stir through and pour into the tin.
• Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes until you can sink a skewer into the centre and it comes out clean.
• Remove the cake from the tin and allow to cool.
• Mix all the topping ingredients together and cover the cake.

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