Baking Made Easy

‘There is no love sincerer than the love of food.’

George Bernard Shaw

Playwright 1856 – 1950

My big fat

Carrot Cake

A no-holds-barred cake with three moist spiced layers of pure excess. If you don’t fancy making this sky-high cake, which takes a whopping nine eggs, then knock off a third of the ingredients and make a more humble two-layer cake instead. Makes a three-tier 23cm (9in) round cake (V)

525ml (18½fl oz) vegetable oil

9 eggs, lightly beaten

525g (1lb 3oz) soft dark brown sugar

420g (15oz) carrots, peeled and grated

Grated zest of 3 large oranges

525g (1lb 3oz) self-raising flour

Pinch of salt

1 tbsp bicarbonate of soda

1½ tbsp mixed spice

Seeds of 1 vanilla pod or 2 drops vanilla extract

Cream cheese frosting

200g (7oz) icing sugar

40g (1½oz) butter, cubed

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Seeds of ½ vanilla pod or 1 drop vanilla extract

115g (4¼oz) low-fat cream cheese, chilled

Handful of pecans or walnuts, toasted to decorate

Equipment

Three x 23cm (9in) round tins

Preheat the oven to 180ºC (325ºF), Gas Mark 4. Prepare the tins by oiling the insides and lining the bases with baking paper.

Put the oil, eggs, sugar, carrots and orange zest in a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon. If you’re making all three tiers, you may have to do this in batches. Mix the flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda and mixed spice together, then sift into the bowl. Add the vanilla and lightly mix everything together until the mixture is uniform but still soft and runny. Ladle into the prepared tins and bake in the oven for 40–45 minutes. Ovens vary so have a peek after 30 minutes to see how the cakes are getting on. The cakes are ready when the sponge springs back up if pushed lightly. A skewer inserted into the middle should come out clean. Leave to cool for 5 minutes or so, then turn out onto a wire rack and peel off the paper.

For the cream cheese frosting, mix the icing sugar, butter, lemon zest and vanilla together in a bowl, then whisk well to combine. Stir in the cream cheese. If the mixture looks too runny, put it in the fridge for 10–12 minutes to harden up. When the cakes are cool, take two of them and use a large, sharp knife to slice off the domed tops, leaving them completely flat. Don’t slice the top off the third cake.

Put a dollop of frosting in the middle of a serving plate or stand to stop the cake from sliding. Take one of the flattened cakes and place it on top. Then pop a big spoonful of frosting onto it and spread all over, leaving a 2.5cm (1in) gap around the edge so that the frosting does not squelch over too much when you add the next layer. Put the next flattened cake on top and repeat with more frosting. Put the unsliced tier on the top, cover generously with frosting and decorate with toasted nuts, if desired.

Banana Loaf

with rum & pecans

A classic flavour combination. I love the soft, woody flavours of pecans, but you could always use walnuts instead. Serves 6–8 (V)

Vegetable oil or oil spray, for oiling

Handful of pecans, plus a few to decorate

100g (3½oz) butter, softened

150g (5oz) soft light brown sugar

Seeds of 1 vanilla pod or

2 drops of vanilla extract

3 eggs

150g (5oz) plain flour

Pinch of salt

Generous pinch of ground cinnamon

1 heaped tsp baking powder

2 overripe bananas, slightly mash

Rum sugar syrup

100ml (4fl oz) dark rum

100g (3½oz) soft light brown sugar

Equipment

22 x 10cm (8¾ x 4in) loaf tin

Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F), Gas Mark 3. Oil the loaf tin then line with baking paper, making sure it overlaps slightly as this makes it easier to remove from the tin, then brush or spray with oil.