Carrot and Walnut Cake

Method

Preheat the oven to 170°C/Gas Mark 3. Put the sultanas into a small bowl, pour on hot water to cover and leave to soak for 20 minutes.

Lightly grease a loose-bottomed 20–22cm square cake tin, about 8cm deep, line the base with greaseproof paper and butter the paper. Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt and ground cloves.

In a large bowl, whisk together the 220g muscovado sugar, oil and orange zest until well combined, then whisk in the eggs until the mixture is creamy. Fold in the apple sauce, followed by the flour mixture until just combined. Next fold in the grated carrots and walnuts. Finally, drain the sultanas and fold these in.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the surface with a spatula. Bake for about 1 1/4 hours, until a fine skewer inserted into the centre comes out without crumbs clinging to it. If the cake appears to be overbrowning before it is done, cover the top loosely with foil.

While the cake is in the oven, make the syrup. Put the orange juice into a small saucepan with the 3 tbsp light muscovado sugar and 1 tbsp lemon juice. Warm over a low heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then increase the heat and simmer until slightly syrupy, about 4–5 minutes.

As you remove the cake from the oven, run a knife around the edge and pierce the top a few times with a fine skewer. Now pour over the syrup, trying to make sure that you cover the surface fairly evenly. Stand the cake tin on a wire rack and leave to cool for a while before cutting into squares. You can serve this cake warm as a pudding with a dollop of crème fraîche, or cold as a treat at any time.