CARROT AND WALNUT CAKE
CARROT AND WALNUT CAKE
CARROT AND WALNUT CAKE

Ingredients
  • 2 free-range eggs
  • 200g/7oz light brown sugar
  • pinch salt
  • 85g/3oz vegetable oil
  • plus extra for greasing
  • 250g/9oz carrots
  • grated
  • 35g/1¼oz walnuts
  • chopped
  • 125g/4½ oz strong flour
  • sifted
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 200g/7oz cream cheese
  • 100g/3½oz caster sugar
  • 50g/1¾oz pistachio paste (available online)
  • few drops green food colouring
  • 250g/9oz marzipan
  • few drops orange food colouring
  • few drops red food colouring
  • 20g/¾oz cocoa powder
  • 6 tbsp cocoa nibs
Directions
  • Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 and grease six 10x5cm/4x2in disposable rectangular moulds or a six cup muffin tin.
  • To make the cake
  • whisk the eggs
  • sugar
  • salt and oil together in a large bowl. Add the carrots
  • walnuts
  • flour
  • baking powder
  • bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon and fold in to combine.
  • Spoon the batter into the moulds or muffin tin and bake for 25 minutes.
  • Meanwhile
  • make the topping. In a bowl combine the cream cheese
  • sugar and pistachio paste. Add green food colouring
  • stirring through a drop at a time
  • until you get an even light-green colour. Set aside until ready to use.
  • When cooked
  • remove the cakes from the oven and set aside to cool. When completely cool
  • spread the topping over the cakes.
  • To decorate
  • massage the marzipan to soften. Set aside a third of the marzipan. Knead in the orange and a little red food colouring into the remaining marzipan until you have bright-orange ‘carrot’ colour. Mould into mini carrots. Knead the green food colouring into the reserved marzipan
  • mould it into carrots tops and attach them to the orange ‘carrots’.
  • Place them on top of the cake and dust with cocoa powder.
  • Along the top of each cake
  • sprinkle a line of cocoa nibs to look like soil with the green tops of the carrots sticking out.