Carrot, spice & candied ginger cake

Name: Carrot, spice & candied ginger cake
Yield: Serves 8-10
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons icing (confectioners’) sugar, sifted; 150 g (1 cup) plain flour; 2-3 tablespoons stem ginger syrup; 100 g (3½ oz) walnuts, coarsely chopped; 100 g (3½ oz) stem ginger in syrup, roughly chopped; 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda); 150 ml (generous ½ cup) light olive oil or sunflower oil; Walnuts, to decorate; 3 eggs, beaten; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1 teaspoon fine sea salt; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon ground ginger; 150 g (⅔ cup) caster sugar; 250 g (9 oz) carrots, grated; 250 g (9 oz) mascarpone

Preparation info

Serves
8-10

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

A Whisper of Cardamom

By Eleanor Ford

Published 2024

About

Carrot cake can sometimes be a saccharine affair, but this gingery version is pared back in its sweetness to let the nutty, autumnal flavours shine. I think this is the best carrot cake in the world - I’d love you to try it and let me know if you agree.

Stem ginger, the sort stored like orbs of amber in syrup, is two ingredients in one. The rhizome itself is tender and juicy with its kick of heat untamed, whilst the syrup is suffused with a gentler warmth and used here in a silky ma