Seasonal recipe No 59: Great Ormond Street carrot cake
This makes an ideal children’s rainy day activity if the bank holiday weekend in the UK turns damp and miserable. (No… please no!) Otherwise it’s a delicious, moist and easy cake to enjoy any time.
It went down a treat with children and adults at one of Camel CSA’s volunteer growing sessions in May. We were sowing the carrots we’ve just harvested for this week’s veg boxes.
The recipe is aimed at 7-11 year olds and is on the Kids First for Health Great Ormond Street Hospital website.
It comes from Jeanette Orrey, the school dinner lady who revealed all to celebrity chef Jamie Oliver about the state of British school dinners. She told him about the terrible Turkey Twizzlers and showed him how she’d really improved the eating habits of the kids at her school.
She says: “I like carrot cake because it contains vegetables and fruit. If the grated carrot is soggy, pat it dry with kitchen paper before adding.”
Personally, I’d go easy on the icing. A light lemon or orange glaze does the trick.
Serves: at least 8
Preparation / cooking: 60-70 minutes (depending on age of cook)
Ingredients
140g (5oz) butter or margarine
140g (5oz) soft brown sugar
2 large eggs
225g (8oz) self-raising flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 orange
175g (6oz) grated carrot
½ teaspoon vanilla essence
55g (2 oz) sultanas
Ten steps to scrumptious carrot cake
1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/Gas 5
2. Lightly grease a square tin (18cm/7in)
3. Line the base of the tin
4. In a bowl mix the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy
5. Beat in the eggs
6. Add and fold in the flour, baking powder, orange zest and juice, grated carrot, vanilla and sultanas
7. Scoop the carefully mixed mixture into the tin
8. Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes until deliciously golden brown
9. When it’s ready, remove from the oven and let the cake cool in the tin before you take it out
10. Carefully take it out of the tin and when it is cold add an orange icing
