Italian almond and carrot cake

Name: Italian almond and carrot cake
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 20g butter, for greasing; ¾ cup raw almonds; 125g (1 or 2 depending on their size) carrots, peeled; 2 tbsp self-raising flour; Finely grated zest of ½ lemon; 2 free-range eggs, separated; 125g castor sugar; 2 tbsp pine nuts; Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Garden Companion, published by Lantern on September 28 2009. $125.

Stephanie Alexander

October 18, 2011

Time:1-2 hours

This recipe is closely based on a recipe for carrot cake in Jane Grigson's Vegetable Book. The mixture wants to stick to the tin so a piece of baking paper at the base of the pan is an essential precaution. It can also be baked in 10 greased and baking-paper-lined holes of a 12-hole muffin tin. In this case, fill each hole two-thirds full with batter, then scatter a few pine nuts over each one. Little cakes will take about 20 minutes to cook until firm and golden on top.

Ingredients

20g butter, for greasing
¾ cup raw almonds
125g (1 or 2 depending on their size) carrots, peeled
2 tbsp self-raising flour
Finely grated zest of ½ lemon
2 free-range eggs, separated
125g castor sugar
2 tbsp pine nuts
Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Garden Companion, published by Lantern on September 28 2009. $125.

Method

Preheat oven to 180C. Melt butter in a frying pan over low heat. Using a pastry brush, grease a 22cm x 10cm loaf tin with melted butter, then line with baking paper and grease again.
Process almonds in a food processor to form a fine powder.
Scrape into a mixing bowl. Attach grating disc and grate carrots. Add carrot to mixing bowl, add flour and lemon zest.
Mix well, using your fingers to make sure there are no lumps. Beat egg yolks and sugar in an electric mixer until thick and pale. Stir in carrot mixture using a slotted spoon.
Scrape mixture into a large mixing bowl. Wash and dry electric beaters and bowl well. Whisk egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into carrot batter gently.
Spoon batter into loaf tin. Scatter pine nuts over the batter.
Bake cake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave cake to cool in tin for a few minutes before running a knife around edges and turning out on to a cooling rack to cool completely.

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