Venetian Carrot Cake

I have been overwhelmed and touched with the messages of support and encouragement I have received over the past week!! The blog has put me in touch with friends whom I had lost touch with over the years despite the irony of all of us having each other on Facebook. And that's why this post is for one of my oldest and dearest friends - Deblina! She applauded the idea of the blog when I first floated it, thought of its name and when I had all but given up on it, prodded me along gently. Along with school friend, Mariam, she writes a blog - 'Made in Umami' - a definitive guide to Mumbai's (and post-marriage, London's) food landscape.

When I saw the recipe for this Venetian carrot cake, it just had her name written all over it. Carrot cake is her absolute favourite (she even served it at her wedding!). Its Venetian version, an ode to her plans for a honeymoon in Venice! Coincidence?? I'd say Serendipity!!

The recipe is from Nigella Lawson's latest offering, 'Nigella Kitchen'. I must confess, it was Nigella's cooking show that somewhere convinced me to enter the kitchen and try my hand. She made it look all so easy. Yes, the purists might frown at her techniques and she does overdo the cream and butter at times. But then, she also does cut everything from chicken to herbs with a pair of scissors!! She describes this cake as an earlier version to its American counterpart, made by Venetian Jews in their original ghettos.

The recipe is dairy-free and gluten-free. Before you rejoice, remember the flour is replaced by almond-meal and that makes the cake a bit on the richer side. The good news, however, is that a small wedge of it will satisfy you! And for those of you who hate their veggies, you don't taste the carrots but they do provide an added texture and a natural sweetness and moistness.

After baking, the cake turns a lovely, golden orangey - brown on the outside while the inside maintains a paleness owing to the almond meal. This is a lovely, moist and slightly crumbly cake which can be shared among a large group. The plumped-up raisins and the hint of that  zesty lemon (in taste and aroma) are the side acts that almost overshadow the main players! Try this cake while the carrots are in season and before their fresh, pinkish hue is bleached to an unappetising pale orange by the Indian summer!!



Venetian Carrot Cake

Recipe minimally adapted from Nigella Lawson's Gluten-free Venetian Carrot Cake

Cook time: 30-40 mins
serves 8-10 people

Ingredients

• 2 medium carrots (approx 200-250 gms), roughly grated
• 75 gms raisins
• 60 ml rum/orange juice
• 150 gms caster sugar (I took regular sugar and whizzed it)
• 125 ml regular olive oil, plus a little extra to grease the cake tin
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 250 gms almond-meal*
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 lemon, grated zest and juice

* If you don't have access to store-bought almond meal, blanch the almonds in hot water, remove the skin, dry them completely and then pulse them in the food-processor until you achieve the required coarse, consistency. Don't over-pulse or don't make it into a paste as the oil from the almonds will begin to leach out spoiling the taste and texture.

Cooking Directions

• Pre-heat the oven to 180 deg C.
• Line a 23 cm/9 inch round, spring form cake tin with non-stick liner on the bottom and brush the sides with the extra olive oil.       
• Place the grated carrots in a sieve to let the excess water drain out and then pat them dry with a kitchen towel or napkin.       
• Put the raisins with the rum/orange juice in a small saucepan, bring to a boil and then let it simmer for 3 minutes.       
• Whisk the sugar and oil with a hand-held mixer until creamy.
• Whisk the eggs with the vanilla extract until well-mixed and then add and whisk into the oil mixture.
• Fold in the almond-meal, grated carrots, raisins (and the liquid with it) and the lemon, juice and zest, until well-combined.
• Pour into the cake tin, evenly distributed. The batter will be shallow.
• Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the top is risen and golden-brown. The cake will not rise much as there is no baking powder/soda. The cake rises on account of the eggs.The skewer should come out clean, a tad sticky though.
• Take out the cake and let it cool completely on a wire rack before you un-mould it. This is important as the cake has a moist, crumbly texture and if you try to unmould it while it is hot, it will come apart!!

* Serving suggestion by Nigella: Serve the cake with some mascarpone cream mixed with icing sugar and rum. I say try it only if you have complete disregard for the weighing scales!!!