Easy Peasy Carrot Cake

Serves 10-12

This carrot cake is dairy free, easy peasy and freezer friendly. What’s more, all you need is a bowl, a spoon and a grater (or a Thermomix)! It’s nice to ice, but if you want to save some time and calories, you can eat this cake sans frosting because it is stand alone delicious! Caring is sharing, so I’ve included the traditional and the Thermomix recipe so everyone can have their cake and eat it!

Ingredients

175g brown sugar

150ml sunflower oil

3 eggs

3 large carrots

100g raisins

zest of 1 orange

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

175g self-raising flour

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

FOR THE ICING

175g icing sugar

1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons orange juice

How to – Traditional

Preheat oven to 180C / 160C fan-forced. Grease and line the base and sides of a deep round or square shaped cake tin.
Grate the carrots and the zest of the orange and set aside.
Tip the sugar into a large mixing bowl and add the oil and the eggs. Mix gently with a wooden spoon. Then stir in the grated carrots, orange rind and sultanas.
Mix the flour, bicarb, nutmeg and cinnamon and sift into the bowl. Lightly mix all the ingredients until the mixture has just come together. Don’t be tempted to over mix it should be quite soft and runny.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 40-45 minutes or until it feels firm and springy when you press it in the centre.
Leave the cake in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
Beat the frosting ingredients together. You want a runny consistency, a bit like cream. Drizzle the icing back and forth in diagonal lines over the top letting it drip down the sides.

How to: Thermomix

Preheat oven to 180C / 160C fan-forced. Grease and line the base and sides of a deep round or square shaped cake tin.
Add spices, flour and bicarb to TM bowl and mix for 10 seconds on speed 6. Set aside.
Place roughly chopped carrots into bowl and chop for 4 seconds on speed 5. Set aside in a separate bowl.
Add orange rind to the TM bowl and grate for 20 seconds on speed 8, scraping the bowl half way through.
Add eggs, sugar and oil in TM bowl. Mix for 5 seconds on speed 5.
Add flour, bicarb and spice mixture and mix for 10 seconds on speed 5.
Add carrotsand raisins to the cake mixture and mix for 20 seconds on reverse speed 2 using the spatula to assist.
Using a spatula, transfer the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Bake for40-45 minutes or until it feels firm and springy when you press it in the centre.
Leave the cake in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
To make the icing: Insert the butterfly and mix the icing sugar for 10 seconds on speed 4. You want a runny consistency, a bit like cream. If necessary, add more juice and mix for another 10 seconds on speed 4. Drizzle the icing back and forth in diagonal lines over the top letting it drip down the sides.