Carrot Cake..

Now that Easter is over, I'm sure you're all sick of chocolate... No?? Didn't think so... but for today, I thought it would be nice to have a change from the chocolate-fest that has been GLBTK recipes lately and go with something a little different. (There'll be plenty of chocolate treats coming soon so don't panic!)

Carrot cake seems to be like Marmite, you either love it or hate it. I LOVE it... aside from the fact that it tastes awesome, the ingredients in my carrot cake are unbelievably healthy! The benefits range from Omega 3 packed walnuts to immune system boosting cinnamon to the skin loving beta carotene in the carrots...

As I keep highlighting, yes this is cake, it tastes great and is loaded with incredible ingredients with lots of health benefits BUT it's not a 'health food' and doesn't become ok to eat on a daily basis just because the ingredients fit in with your nutrition goals. Cake is for a treat.... don't forget that!

For the cake:

• 4 tbsp Irish honey
• 125ml walnut oil
• 60g Greek yoghurt
• 3 eggs
• zest of 1 large orange (reserve 1 tsp zest for the icing)
• 225g ground almonds 
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp ginger
• 3 medium carrots, coarsely grated
• 100g walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 160d (fan). Line an 8" round cake tin with baking parchment. 

Whisk the honey, oil, yoghurt, eggs and zest together until smooth.

Stir in the remaining ingredients until well combined.

Pour into prepared tin & bake for 40 minutes. (Since nut flours burn easier than wheat flour & oven temperature vary hugely, keep an eye on the cake to ensure it is not over-browning. If needed, place a sheet of parchment paper loosely over the top of the tin).

Once baked (slide a cake tester/or skewer into the centre of the cake to ensure that it comes out clean without any cake mixture), remove from the tin and allow to cool on a wire rack.

For the icing: 

150g mascarpone
30g butter, softened to room temperature
1 tsp orange zest
3 tbsp orange juice

Mix the ingredients until smooth. Do not over-mix or the icing will become too runny.

Spread an even layer over the cake and top with chopped walnuts.