BUNNY CARROT CAKE

Bunny carrot cake image

A sticky and delicious sponge with decorative candied carrot topping - enjoy a slice with a cup of coffee or tea

Provided by Sarah Cook

Categories Dessert

Time 1h40m

Yield Cuts into 10-12 slices

Number Of Ingredients 15

Ingredients

200g light soft brown sugar , plus 3 tbsp
150ml light rapeseed oil (we used Cooks & Co with natural butter flavour), plus extra for greasing
100g natural yogurt , plus extra to serve (optional)
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
zest 3 oranges , juice of 2 (save juice of last orange for the carrots, below)
300g self-raising flour
1 tbsp mixed spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
250g coarsely grated carrot
crème fraîche , to serve (optional)
225-250g small or baby carrots , peeled and halved lengthways
juice 1 orange (from cake ingredients)
25g butter
4 tbsp light soft brown sugar

Steps:

First, make the caramelised carrots. Put the carrots in a saucepan so they can sit in just about a single layer. Add the orange juice, butter, sugar and enough water to cover the tops of the carrots by just 1cm. Bring to the boil, then cook until the water has almost evaporated and the carrots are left in a sticky syrup - you may want to reduce the heat if the liquid looks more syrupy, and go a little slower at the end so the carrots don't catch. Can be made up to 1 day ahead.
Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Grease a 23cm cake tin. Lift the candied carrots from the pan and syrup, and arrange in the base of the tin, cut-side down. Keep the pan and syrup for later.
Whisk together the 200g brown sugar, the oil, yogurt, eggs, vanilla and zest from 2 oranges. Mix the flour, mixed spice, cinnamon and grated carrot in a big mixing bowl. Stir in the whisked mixture until smooth, then spoon over the carrots in the tin - be careful not to dislodge their arrangement too much. Bake for 45-50 mins until a skewer poked in comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 20 mins.
Meanwhile, add the orange juice to the syrup pan with the 3 tbsp brown sugar. Simmer together until slightly reduced, then stir in the remaining zest.
Turn the cake out onto a plate and spoon over the syrup. Eat just warm or at room temperature with more yogurt or crème fraîche.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 359 calories, Fat 16 grams fat, SaturatedFat 3 grams saturated fat, Carbohydrate 50 grams carbohydrates, Sugar 32 grams sugar, Fiber 2 grams fiber, Protein 5 grams protein, Sodium 0.4 milligram of sodium