APPLE,CARROT,LEMON &
CINNAMONCAKE
SERVES8-10
“Madewithspeltflour,freshcarrotsand
a sharpapplepurée,thiscakeis so
unbelievablymoistthatI wanttocallit
a pudding,butI’mgoingtoresistasit’s
goodtoeatat anytime.I’vefoldedlots
ofgratedlemonzest,fierygingerand
cinnamon into the batter, so it’s fragrant.”
2 (260g)redapples(weusedFuji),
peeled,quarteredandcoreremoved
250glightbrown soft sugar
100gcurrants
Juiceandfinelygratedzestof1 lemon
100mlsunflower oil, plus extra
togrease
2 eggs
250gcarrots,peeled,coarsely grated
1 tbsgratedrootginger
2 tspgroundcinnamon
2 tspbakingpowder
200g spelt flour
DRIZZLE
Juiceof1 lemon
50g light brown soft sugar
ICING
150gunsaltedbutter,softened at
room temperature
300gpureicingsugar,sifted
Veryfinelygratedzestof1 lemon and
a goodsqueezeofjuice
Calendulaflowers,petalspicked,
to decorate (optional)Placetheapplesin a mediumsaucepan
with50gofthesugar,thecurrantsand
thelemonjuiceandsetovera medium
heat.Cook,stirringregularlyfor8-10
minutesoruntilyouhavea compotethat
is bubbling,silkyandthick.Spoon the
compoteintoa bowltocool.
Meanwhile,lightlygreasea 20cmcake
pan(about7-8cmdeep) and line with
bakingpaper.
Heattheovento170°C.
Pourtheoilintoa largebowl,addthe
remaining200gsugarandtheeggs,and
beatwitha whiskuntilpaleandfluffy.
Foldin theappleandcurrantcompote,
alongwiththelemonzest,gratedcarrot,
ginger,cinnamonanda pinchofsalt.In
a separatebowl,stirthebakingpowder
intotheflour,thenfoldthisgently
throughthewetingredients in the bowl
toforma batter.
Scrapethebatterintotheprepared
cakepanandlevelthetopa bit.Loosely
coverthetopofthecakepanwitha
pieceoffoiltostopthecakegettingtoo
dark during baking. Bake for about 1hour,thenremovethefoilandbakefor
a further 20 minutesoruntila skewer
insertedintothecentrecomesoutclean.
(Bakefora further 10 minutesandtest
again,if necessary.)Removefrom the
ovenandleavein thepan.
Forthedrizzle,seta smallsaucepan
overa mediumheatandaddthelemon
juiceandthesugarandbringtothe
simmer.Assoonasthesugarhas
dissolved,removethepanfromtheheat.
Prickthecakealloverwitha thinskewer
anddrizzlethe syrup over while the cake is
stillwarm.
Whilethecakeis cooling,makethe
icing.Placethebutterin thebowlofa
standmixerwiththewhiskattachmentand
whisk(alternatively,usea largemixing
bowlandanelectricwhiskorhandwhisk)
untilthebutteris lightandpillowy.Add
halftheicingsugarandcontinuetowhisk
untilthoroughlycombined.Then,addthe
remaining150gicingsugar,alongwiththe
lemonzest,andbeatsomemore.Finally,
addthesqueezeoflemonjuicetosoften
themixturetothedesiredconsistency.
Removethecakefromthepananduse
a paletteknifetospreadtheicingoverthe
topandsidesin a relativelyevenlayer,but
don’tworryif it’sa bitthinin places.
Decoratewitha few orange calendula
petals, if using.GILL MELLER.