The perfect teatime treat, with an unusual marriage of flavours that works brilliantly.
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Ingredients
- Butter for greasing
- 4 medium free-range eggs
- 225ml sunflower oil
- 100g soft light brown sugar
- 75g caster sugar
- 4 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 300g self-raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 100g pecans, chopped
- 2-3 large carrots (about 250g), grated
- 1 parsnip (about 100g), grated
- Splash milk (optional)
- Edible flowers to decorate (see Know-how)For the icing
- 450g cream cheese
- 200ml double cream
- Zest and juice ½ lemon
- 1 tsp rose water
- 1 tsp lemon extract
- 75g icing sugar
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Method
- Heat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/ gas 4. Grease and line a deep 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin. Put the eggs, oil, sugars and maple syrup in a large mixing bowl and whisk with an electric hand mixer for 4-5 minutes until the mixture is pale and creamy.
- Sift the ginger, flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into the sugar mixture, then gently fold through. Add the pecans, carrot and parsnip and gently fold in. If the batter is a little thick, add a splash of milk to bring it to dropping consistency (the point when the batter takes a few seconds to drop off a spoon).
- Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and level the surface. Bake on the middle shelf for 1 hour 20 minutes or until a skewer pushed into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the icing, use a clean electric hand mixer to beat the cream cheese and double cream together in a mixing bowl until smooth. Beat in the lemon zest and juice, the rose water and lemon extract, and the icing sugar until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Add more icing sugar to taste, if necessary.
- Once the cake is cool, use a palette knife to cover it with the icing, then decorate with the edible flowers.
Nutrition
- 651kcals Calories
- 49.4g (19.7g saturated) Fat
- 7.3g Protein
- 45.7g (26.4g sugars) Carbs
- 2.7g Fibre
- 0.8g Salt
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