This is suitable for those with Coeliac Disease and Gluten Sensitivity, but everyone should have a go at this as it is so delicious! Based on a recipe by Nigella Lawson. Picture from the BBC Good Food website. All ingredients available from True Food except mascarpone.
Ingredients
3 tbsp pine nuts
2 medium carrots (approx. 200-250g/7-9oz)
75g/3oz sultanas
60ml/2¼fl oz orange juice
150g/5oz caster sugar
125ml/4½fl oz regular olive oil (or melted butter), plus extra for greasing
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 free-range eggs
250g/9oz ground almonds
½ tsp ground nutmeg, or to taste
½ orange, finely grated zest
For the mascarpone cream (optional)
250g/9oz mascarpone (or other cream cheese)
2 tsp icing sugar
2 tbsp orange juice
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line the base of a 23cm/9in round springform cake tin with re-usable non-stick silicone liner or baking parchment and grease the sides with olive oil.
- Toast the pine nuts by browning in a dry frying pan; the oven alone is not enough to scorch out the paleness. Set aside.
- Grate the carrots in a processor (for ease) or with a coarse grater, then sit them on a double layer of kitchen paper and wrap them, to soak up excess liquid. Set aside.
- Put the sultanas in a small saucepan with the orange juice, bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer for 3 minutes.
- Whisk the sugar and oil until creamy and airy.
- Whisk in the vanilla extract and eggs and, when well whisked, fold in the ground almonds, nutmeg, grated carrots, sultanas and, finally, the orange zest.
- Scrape the mixture into the prepared cake tin and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula. The batter will be very shallow in the tin.
- Sprinkle the toasted pine nuts over the cake and put it into the oven for 30–40 minutes, or until the top is risen and golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out sticky but more or less clean. Cool on a rack.
- For the topping, mix the ingredients together well and serve on the side.