Publications
- - CAKE
- 400g - brown sugar
- 5 - extra-large eggs
- 10ml - vanilla extract or paste
- 375ml - canola oil
- 3 - ripe bananas
- 500ml - cake wheat flour
- 5ml - baking powder
- 10ml - bicarbonate of soda
- 10ml - ground cinnamon
- 5ml - salt
- 750ml - grated carrot
- 65g - desiccated coconut
- 100g - almonds, chopped
- 170g - dates, chopped
- 1 - can crushed pineapple, drained
- - FROSTING
- 125g - butter, softened
- 250g - cream cheese
- 500g - icing sugar
- 15ml - beetroot powder or 5ml (1t) pink food colouring
- 10ml - vanilla extract
- 5ml - rosewater
- 200g - white chocolate, melted
If you like, garnish the cake with crushed pistachio nuts and fresh purple Parisian figs if in season, or fresh baby beetroot.
1. Cake Place the sugar, eggs, vanilla, oil and bananas in a bowl and beat with an electric beater until the banana is mashed and the sugar dissolved.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarb, cinnamon and salt together, and add to the wet ingredients. Beat until combined. Add the carrot, coconut, almonds, dates and pineapple and mix through.
3. Divide the batter between the prepared cake tins and bake for 45–50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
4. Frosting In a food processor, beat the butter and cream cheese together until pale and fluffy. Add the icing sugar, beetroot powder or food colouring, vanilla and rosewater and beat while gradually pouring in the melted chocolate. Let the machine run until the frosting has doubled in volume. Spread the frosting evenly over both cakes, then stack them on top of each other. Refrigerate until the frosting has set.
