My Mum requested me to make her a carrot cake for Mother's Day. She was obviously referring to that really nice Nigel Slater carrot cake I often make. She would have really liked it if I had made her that cake. But no, I thought I'd be adventurous and try out this Josceline Dimbleby cake. She never requests me to make anything and after this, I'm worried she won't request anything again.
The recipe reminds me of that Moro Cake from Nigella's How To Eat. It has a light egg white base and is then covered with syrup. Hopefully it tasted as good as the Moro Cake but I'm still to scared to phone her to get her opinion on it.
The recipe reminds me of that Moro Cake from Nigella's How To Eat. It has a light egg white base and is then covered with syrup. Hopefully it tasted as good as the Moro Cake but I'm still to scared to phone her to get her opinion on it.
Ingredients
For the cake
100g self-raising flour
1 tsp salt
175g caster sugar
4 tbsps sunflower oil
5 tbsps water
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs, separated
225g grated carrots
1 tsp cream tartar
For the candied carrot top
225g carrots
1 lemon
225g granulated sugar
4 tbsps water
Pre-heat oven to gas mark 3. Line a 7-8 inch cake tin (although in hindsight, I wish I had gone for a smaller tin) with baking parchment. Sift flour, salt and caster sugar into a bowl. Add the oil water, vanilla, and egg yolks and beat to make a smooth batter. Stir in the carrots. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar to form soft peaks. Fold into the batter with a metal spoon. Transfer to the tin and bake for 1 1/2 hours or until tester comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
While the cake is cooking, make the topping. Peel the carrots and slice as finely as possible. Coarsely grate the lemon rind and squeeze out the juice. Put all ingredients into a saucepan and boil for 6-10 minutes until a blob of the syrup dropped on a cold plate sets. Leave in the saucepan to cool.
When the cake is cold, put it on a serving plate and spread the candied carrots on top. Serve cake with cream.
While the cake is cooking, make the topping. Peel the carrots and slice as finely as possible. Coarsely grate the lemon rind and squeeze out the juice. Put all ingredients into a saucepan and boil for 6-10 minutes until a blob of the syrup dropped on a cold plate sets. Leave in the saucepan to cool.
When the cake is cold, put it on a serving plate and spread the candied carrots on top. Serve cake with cream.
