Low fat carrot and walnut cake
Serves 6
Ingredients:
2 large eggs, beaten
60g brown sugar
50ml sunflower oil
130g plain flour
10g baking powder
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
3 large carrots, grated
100g walnuts
2 tsp orange juice
For decoration:
200g mascarpone cheese
30g icing sugar
20g unsalted butter
Handful of blueberries
Handful of strawberries, chopped in half
Method:
1) Preheat the oven to 180°C. Put the eggs, brown sugar, and sunflower oil into a bowl and beat well.
2) Sift in the flour, baking powder and cinnamon into the bowl, and then fold into the mixture.
3) Add in the carrots, walnuts and orange juice. Mix well together.
4) Pour the mixture into an 18cm round, greased non-stick baking tin (cover with butter and sieve plain flour on top). Bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes, until a knife is inserted into the centre and comes out dry. Turn out the cake into a rack and leave to cool.
5) For the decoration, mix the mascarpone cheese, icing sugar, and melted butter. Beat until smooth. Spread evenly onto the cooled cake. Using the blueberries and strawberries decorate to create the union jack.
Health Benefits:
Carrots are a rich source of beta carotene, which is converted into vitamin A in the liver. This is known to improve vision. Beta carotene is also an antioxidant. Walnuts are a good source of omega 3 fatty acids, which have associated with reducing LDL ‘bad cholesterol’ and increasing HDL ‘good cholesterol.’ They are also a rich source of minerals like manganese, copper, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc, and selenium.