Carrot Cake
This is dense, moist and delicious, as well as being one of your five a day. Possibly two if you go in for seconds…
Ingredients
2 cups of plain wholemeal flour (if you don’t eat wheat, you can use spelt or rice flour)
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup agave nectar
½ cup of shredded or desiccated coconut
1 cup sultanas
125 g chopped walnuts
4 rings tinned pineapple, chopped
1/3 cup pineapple juice from the can
4 medium carrots, finely grated
3 eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup of light olive oil or avocado oil
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon mixed spice
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the icing (optional)
1 large or 2 small tubs low-fat cream cheese
Zest of 2 lemons
Juice of 1 lemon
Agave nectar to taste
1 tablespoon cornflour
1 tablespoon water
Method
Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F). Lightly grease a 24 cm/9 inch cake tin and line the base and sides with baking paper.
Put the flour, baking powder, sugar, coconut, sultanas, walnuts, and spices and in a large bowl and mix together. Add the remaining ingredients and mix together well.
Turn into the cake tin, gently spread out and bake for 1 hour. If the top starts to brown too quickly, cover it with foil.
Meanwhile, make the icing. Cream the lemon zest, juice and cream cheese together well. Add 4 tablespoons of agave nectar and taste, then add some more if you like it sweeter. Make a paste from the cornflour and water, and mix well into the icing to firm it up.
When the cake is ready, let it cool for 15 mins before turning out onto a cake rack, and wait till completely cool before liberally adding the icing.
This makes a beautifully moist cake which will keep for a week in an airtight tin in the fridge.