I never had much of a sweet tooth until I started running. And then the cake arrived and I discovered just how well cake and running go together – carrot and pineapple cake to be precise.
At the moment I don’t eat cake when actually running, but we’ll see how it goes. It’s a good treat for afters with a good strong cup of coffee.
A few things I like about this recipe – it’s pretty easy to make, tasty and travels pretty well. And it still tastes good after a few months in the freezer. And it’s got some good stuff in it, carrot, oil, walnuts. Perhaps you could even count it as one of your five a day?
Serves 16
450g wholemeal self-raising flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ tablespoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground allspice
110g dark muscovado sugar
125ml light olive oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten
350g grated carrot
50g chopped walnut pieces
25g desiccated coconut
250g crushed pineapple in natural juice
Golden icing sugar to dust (optional)
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Grease and line the base of a 23cm (9in) spring release tine with greaseproof paper. Or you might want to make 2 smaller cakes – if so, less cooking time required.
- Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients except the icing sugar and mix well until evenly combined.
- Transfer the mixture to the tin and level the surface. Bake into the centre of the oven for about an hour. It should be risen and golden and a fine metal skewer comes out clean when inserted in the cake.
- Cool in the tin for 15 mins and then transfer to a wired race until completely cold. Dust with icing sugar before serving.
Adapted from Antony Worrall Thompson’s GI Diet