Carrot and banana cake
SERVES 8-12. HANDS-ON TIME 20 MIN, OVEN TIME 35-45 MIN, PLUS CHILLING
NO INCENTIVE NEEDED... ...for this sticky carrot cake
I never tire of making a sweet treat to share with friends and family for afternoon tea or a birthday celebration (I especially love baking with my grandchildren). I’m so thrilled to share these tried and tested recipes with you, and I hope you’ll gain as much satisfaction cooking them for friends and family as I have in creating them. MARY BERRY
This combination may sound a little strange, but I always put banana in my carrot cake to give a moist sponge. The banana also makes the texture slightly denser rather than light and springy.
MAKE AHEAD
The cake can be fully prepared up to 24 hours in advance, then thoroughly wrapped in cling film. The sponges freeze well without icing, wrapped, in cling film for up to 1 month.
MARY’S TIPS
Coarsely grate the carrot; if it’s finely grated, too much water comes out of it when it’s cooking, leading to a wet cake. The icing is fairly soft but will firm up once chilled.
• 250ml sunflower oil, plus extra for greasing
• 4 medium free-range eggs, beaten
• 275g caster sugar
• 275g self-raising flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 small ripe bananas (about 200g), mashed
• 2 medium carrots (about 150g), coarsely grated; see tips
FOR THE ICING
• 280g full-fat cream cheese
• 150g butter, softened
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 250g icing sugar, sifted