Baking with veg, and particularly carrots is a wonderful way to add moisture, texture and sweet flavour to cakes. This cake is made extra special with the addition of peanut butter in the icing, which crowns it with a rich, nutty flavour that is at once moreish and satisfying.
For the cake:
For the icing:
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin with oil and add a tablespoon of flour to the tin and knock it on a flat surface at different angles until a light dusting of flour coats the inside of the tin all over. Discard any extra flour.
Put the oil, peanut butter, eggs and sugar into a mixing bowl and mix with an electric whisk for 3 minutes until the contents of the bowl are pale and completely incorporated. Sift the flour, baking powder and cinnamon together in a separate bowl and stir to combine. Using a spatula, gently fold the dry ingredients into the peanut butter mixture and continue to fold until no dry spots are visible.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes in the tin before loosening the outside edge with a palette knife. Lift the cake out of the tin and transfer to a rack to cool completely.
While the cake is cooling, beat the soft cheese, peanut butter, icing sugar and lemon juice together in a bowl until the mixture is incorporated and holds its shape. When the cake is completely cool, carefully ice the top with a spatula and decorate with the orange and lemon zest.
Store the cake in an airtight container and serve within 3 days.
Variations:
Pop your email address below to be the first to hear about all our latest goings-on, newest products and things you can do to help make our Earth a healthier place.
