Passion Cake Procrastination

It’s Yarndale next week and preparations are under way but perhaps not as under way as they should be.

I should be labelling yarn and packing boxes but strangely enough that’s always something I leave to the last minute.  Well left to my own devices I’d leave everything to the last minute and to give me an excuse for not working I made a cake.
It has to be the easiest cake ever, not really an afternoon tea with fine china type of cake but just the sort to go with a mug of coffee.  I’m not sure where the passion comes in to it but it’s got fruit and veg in it therefore it must be good for you.  So maybe after coffee and cake I may get on with the yarn, or maybe not.

Ingredients for cake

10 oz (275 g) plain flour
Pinch salt
1 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
2 tsp baking powder
6 oz (175 g) soft brown sugar
3 eggs
2 ripe bananas, mashed
6 oz (175 g) grated carrot
2 oz (50 g) chopped walnuts or raisins
6 fl oz (175 ml) corn or vegetable oil

Ingredients for icing

9 oz (250 g) mascarpone
2 heaped tablespoons creme fraiche
1 rounded tsp icing sugar
½ tsp vanilla essence
Toasted coconut chips to see how many I spread a layer in the cake tin that I’m using for the cake and then grill in the tin

Oven temperature 170°C (325°F, gas mark 3)
2 x 8 inch / 20 cm cake tins, greased and then line the base

Sift the dry ingredients in to a bowl.  Stir in the sugar and nuts and then add the bananas and grated carrot and stir again.  Whisk together the eggs and the oil and then beat into the other ingredients until they’re just mixed.
Divide the batter between the two prepared tins and cook in the preheated oven for thirty minutes or until firm to the touch.  Turn out on to a cooling rack and leave to cool.

Icing
Place the mascarpone and creme fraiche in to a bowl and beat together until well mixed.  Sieve in the icing sugar and add the vanilla essence, beat again.   Cover and chill until the cake is cool.
Place one half cake on the serving plate and spread over half of the icing, top with the second cake and cover the top with the remaining icing and then sprinkle over the toasted coconut.

and perfect for a Macmillan coffee morning.  A well behaved cake that fools everyone in to thinking you’re a baking genius when the trickiest part is grating a carrot.  Try it, invite your friends around for a bit of knitting, coffee and cake and see if you can raise some money for Macmillan Cancer Support.