A simple cake, with fairly light ingredients, moist and fragrant — the kind you’ll happily eat for breakfast more than once.

Quick info

  • Cake tin: 20–22 cm (7.9–8.7 in)
  • Prep: 15 minutes
  • Baking: 30 minutes
  • Resting: 10–15 minutes before turning out
  • Tools: large bowl, electric whisks, spatula, blender, regular or springform 20–22 cm (7.9–8.7 in) cake tin

With 100g (3.5 oz) of sugar it’s more neutral, with 120g (4.2 oz) it’s more flavourful. 20 cm tin → taller and moister. 22 cm tin → flatter and drier.

Ingredients

  • 200g (7.1 oz) plain flour
  • 50g (1.8 oz) potato starch (or bump the flour up to 250g / 8.8 oz)
  • 180g (6.3 oz) raw carrots, peeled
  • 100g (3.5 oz) sugar (or 120g / 4.2 oz for a bit of joy)
  • 2 eggs at room temperature
  • 80g (2.8 oz) milk (I use unsweetened soy milk)
  • 2 scant tablespoons (about 25g / 0.9 oz) of sunflower oil
  • 1 sachet (16g / 0.6 oz) of baking powder
  • Grated zest of 1 mandarin or 1 orange
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • Icing sugar to finish

Method

  1. In a bowl, beat 2 eggs with 100g (3.5 oz) of sugar using electric whisks for 3–4 minutes, until the mixture turns pale and fluffy.
  2. Blitz 180g (6.3 oz) of carrots with the mandarin or orange zest until finely chopped.
  3. Add the carrots to the egg mixture and stir. Add 80g (2.8 oz) of milk and 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil.
  4. Sift together the flour, potato starch, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Fold them in a little at a time, mixing gently. The batter should turn out smooth and soft.
  5. Line a 20–22 cm (7.9–8.7 in) tin with baking paper. Pour in the batter and level it out.
  6. Bake in a preheated static oven at 180°C (356°F) for about 30 minutes. Toothpick test: it should come out dry.
  7. Let it cool in the tin for 10–15 minutes, turn out, and dust with icing sugar only once it’s completely cold.

Fit carrot cake