Spiced mandarin and carrot cake
I know carrot cake is normally associated with Easter – but I love it so much I make it all year round, adjusting the flavours according to the season. This dairy-free spiced mandarin and carrot cake is perfect for the winter months and festivities – the added mandarin, cinnamon and mixed spice make it very Christmassy. It would be a good cake for Halloween too – in this case don’t puree the mandarin and shredded carrots ( just add the mandarin flesh, zest and roughly shredded carrot for a textured finish. Then decorate it in a scary way!
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven to 175 C degrees. Grease and line a springform cake tin.
- Mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, ground cinnamon, mixed spice and pinch of salt together in a bowl.
- Peel the mandarins and put one aside. Put the rest (including the rind) into a food processor and whiz until you get a thick puree. Add the shredded carrot and pulse for a few seconds. Add the eggs and pulse for a few seconds again. Finally mix in the oil and vanilla extract.
- Pour the wet mixture into the flour mixture and stir gently until you get a smooth batter.
- Tip the batter into the prepared cake tin. Arrange the mandarin slices on top and scatter 2 tbsp of muscovado sugar all over the top.
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 40-45 minutes until golden and a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. After 20 minutes or so have a look, if the top is already brown, cover the tin with foil.
- Let the cake cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then carefully remove the springform.
- Transfer the cake to a wire-rack and allow to cool completely.