Wednesday 8 February 2017

Carrot and Orange Loaf Cakes

More loaf cakes...they are a great format for large meetings at work, as you can quickly give a lot of people slices to go with their mid-morning coffee, when the brain is just starting to crave a hit of carbs to keep it going. The original recipe was for a single 1lb loaf cake, however I've gone for 2 x 1lb loaf tins, reducing the cooking time a little to compensate.

It's another classic flavour, and I very nearly threw in some sultanas, as it's crying out for it. Once again I've done a gluten-free batch, and it was notably different in cooking. The wet mixture was drier, and it's risen more evenly. The recipe I based this on had some humorous omissions...notably no mention of grating the carrot (I mean, I sort of assumed the carrot was grated, but maybe you're supposed to chuck the thing in whole?)

The only thing I'd change is to make the mixtures a little larger...perhaps 10-15% more on everything, to fully fill out the tins.

Carrot and Orange Loaf Cakes - Recipe

  • Grease and line 2 1lb loaf tins
  • Pre-heat the oven to 160'C

Ingredients

  • 1 orange
  • 150g butter - softened
  • 150g muscavado sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 200g self-raising flour OR 190g gluten-free flour and 10g baking powder
  • 1tsp baking powder (yes, you need this as well with the gluten-free...carrot-cake is heavy)
  • 1tsp ground mixed spice
  • 1tbsp milk
  • 2 tbsp honey

1) Zest the orange, and place in a stand-mixer bowl with the paddle attachment

2) Add the sugar, eggs and butter to the stand mixer

3) Mix until as smooth as possible (the butter will clump a little, but get it as soft and smooth as possible)

4) Grate the carrot, and place in a large mixing bowl

5) Add the flour, baking powder and mixed spice to the carrot, and mix with a spatula. If it's very stiff, add a spalsh of milk (the gluten-free option may well need this)

6) Pour the wet mixture onto the carrot mixture, and stir using a spatula until smooth

7) Split the mixture between the 2 prepared tins, and level

8) Bake in the oven for 45 minutes

9) While the cakes are baking, cut the pith off the orange, and slice thinly

10) Take the cakes out of the oven, and decorate the top with the sliced orange

11) Drizzle the honey over the top, and spread around with a pastry brush

12) Return to the oven for 15 minutes

13) Remove to a wire rack to cool