Carrot Cake

Now that CT has left home, I'm getting used to prioritising other likes and dislikes when I'm baking - First Born doesn't like ginger much, would prefer me not to use nuts other than ground almonds and hazelnuts but likes fresh fruit more than CT does. However, I can't rely on her to eat at least one portion of cake a day, come what may, so I'm going to have to make smaller cakes that will be finished before the mould starts to grow!

One of her favourite cakes is this carrot cake, which is light in texture, well flavoured with orange and spices, and doesn't have any nuts in it. The other thing she likes is that it is topped with an orange flavoured  glacé icing, rather than a cream cheese frosting, which can be too rich for her.

The recipe, irritatingly given the twee name 'Yummy Scrummy Carrot Cake', comes from BBC Good Food and is on their website, as well as in a handy little book called 101 Cakes and Bakes. I notice it was first published in Good Food magazine in 2002 - it has been my 'go to' carrot cake recipe for longer than I realised, even though I haven't written about it before now!

I'm often tempted by other carrot cake recipes, but when it comes to baking one, out comes old faithful, because it's delicious, feather-light, quick to make and a reliable recipe. This time, I made a double batch of cake batter and baked it in my 10" square adjustable tin, divided down the centre to make two cakes each 10" x 5". This is not much different in size to the 7" square cake suggested in the recipe, and meant both cakes could be baked together. One went off with FB to a social gathering and one is left for us to eat quickly, as it won't keep well in this humid weather.