Photo of Carrot cake by WW

Carrot cake

7
Points® value
Total Time
1 hr 30 min
Prep
20 min
Cook
1 hr 10 min
Serves
10
Difficulty
Easy
This delicate bake has all the moist sweetness of the traditional version, but with around a third of the SmartPoints. And it's gluten free!

Ingredients

Low Fat Spread

75 g, plus extra for greasing

Gluten & wheat free white self-raising flour blend

200 g

Baking powder

1½ teaspoon(s), level, gluten free

Ground Cinnamon

1 teaspoon(s), level

Cardamom Pods

3 g, seeds, ground

Orange

½ zest(s) of 1, plus extra to decorate, and 1 tsp of the juice

Freshly squeezed orange juice

serving(s)

Light Brown Sugar

80 g

Egg, whole, raw

2 medium, raw, lightly beaten

Carrots, raw

175 g, grated

Apple

50 g, such as Cox, grated

Medium fat soft cheese

125 g

Icing Sugar

3 teaspoon(s), level, sifted

Instructions

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°c, gas mark 4. Grease and line a 2.5lb loaf tin.
  2. Sift the flour and baking powder together. Add the cinnamon, cardamom and zest of ½ an orange and stir in.
  3. Using a stand mixer or a handheld electric hand whisk, beat together the butter and sugar, scraping down the side of the bowl occasionally, until combined, light and creamy. It will look as if the mixture curdles at first but keep going for a minimum of 5 mins. Gradually add the egg, beating well after each addition.
  4. Add the flour mixture and mix briefly until just combined. Fold in the carrots and apple so it’s evenly distributed. Pour into the loaf tin, transfer to the oven, and bake for 1hr and 10 mins until browned on top and when a skewer is inserted, comes out with just a few wet crumbs. Place the loaf tin on a wire rack and leave until completely cooled.
  5. Once the cake is cool, start on the frosting. Beat the Philadelphia and icing sugar together with the tsp of orange juice. Spread over the top of the cake and sprinkle over the ½ tsp orange zest. Serve.