Spelt Carrot Cake

Ingredients

• 150ml/5fl oz/scant ? cup sunflower oil, plus extra for greasing
• 3 eggs
• 150g/5½oz/heaped ¾ cup light soft brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• 75g/2½oz/heaped ½ cup white spelt flour
• 75g/2½oz/heaped ½ cup wholegrain spelt flour
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• 175g/6oz grated carrots
• 75g/2½oz/½ cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

FOR THE ICING & FINISHING:

• 115g/4oz full-fat cream cheese.
• 115g/4oz unsalted butter, softened......
• 115g/4oz/scant 1 cup icing sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• berries, fruit or nuts of your choice, to decorate (optional)

Method:

1. Lightly oil a 23cm/9in round cake tin and line it with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas 3.
2. Put the eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and salt in a mixing bowl and whisk together until smooth, then add the oil, drip by drip, as if you were making a mayonnaise. Keep whisking until all the oil is added and you have a smooth emulsion. Fold in the flours and baking powder, then add the carrots, folding continuously so that you have a smooth cake batter. Add the walnuts and fold a couple of times again, then pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin. 
3. Bake for 40–45 minutes until the cake has risen, is golden brown on top and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
4. Once the cake has cooled, make the icing. Put the cream cheese and butter in a mixing bowl and whisk together. Add the icing sugar and vanilla and whisk again until smooth. Use a spatula or palette knife to ice the carrot cake and decorate with fresh berries, fruit or nuts or other ingredients, if you like.

Extracted from Spelt by Roger Saul © Roger Saul 2015
Published by Nourish Books, London. 
Hardback £16.99