Carrot, Date and Walnut Cake

This delectable dessert from Coles utilises multiple products from their Certified Organic Range, and serves eight people. Carrot, date and walnut cakes are a classic treat, and this one follows a simple and delicious recipe that you’re sure to love.

Ingredients

• 250 ml sunflower oil
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• 250g light muscovado sugar
• 200g Coles Certified Organic carrots peeled and coarsely grated
• 300g Coles Certified Organic self-raising flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground mixed spice
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 100g Coles Certified Organic chopped dates.
• 80g walnuts shelled and chopped

Icing

• 75g Coles Certified Organic Peanut Butter (room temperature)
• 125g icing (confectioners’) sugar
• 250g full-fat cream cheese (room temperature)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Grease two deep 20cm (8in) round
   sandwich tins and line the bases of the cake tins with baking parchment.
2. In a large bowl, combine sugar, self-rising flour, baking powder, mixed spice, ginger, cinnamon,
   and nutmeg.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the chopped walnut, dates, and carrots.
4. Mix the eggs and oil together well then add this to the dry mix. Once you have a thick batter
   consistency, then add the walnut, carrot, and date mixture to the batter mix and mix well.
5. Spoon the mixture evenly between the tins. Tap the tins on a hard surface to knock out any air
   bubbles.
6. Put the cakes in the oven and bake for about 35 minutes, or until golden brown, risen, and
   shrinking away from the sides of the tins. You can also check this by using a skewer inserted into
   the cake. If it comes out clean it’s ready.
7. Leave in tins for 25 mins before turning out onto wire rack, leave to cool for 1 hour before
   topping.
8. Make the icing: peanut butter, icing sugar and cream cheese into a bowl and whisk using a
   hand or electric whisk until smooth and thoroughly blended.
9. Spread half the icing on one cake, sit the other cake on top, like a sandwich and then spread
   the remaining icing on top to make a swirl pattern. Decorate the top of the cake with extra
   walnuts.