You won’t miss the meat at all in these hearty and flavoursome dishes, in our second extract from the new vegetarian cookbook by Prue Leith and her chef niece Peta.
This delicious vegan carrot cake is Prue’s recipe, perfect for indulging dinner guests
This is adapted from a recipe by Liza, the pastry chef at The Ivy.
We used to make it for vegan guests celebrating in the private dining room, and it was popular – most people don’t even realise it’s vegan.
I serve it plain, but you can spread whipped coconut cream on top.
Serves 6
- 50g (1¾oz) walnut halves
- 105ml (3½fl oz) vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing
- 65ml (2¼fl oz) orange juice
- 160g (5¾oz) caster sugar
- 170g (6oz) strong plain white flour
- 2tsp baking powder
- 1tsp ground cinnamon
- A pinch of mixed spice
- 105g (3¾oz) ground almonds
- 80g (3oz) sultanas
- 200g (7oz) grated carrot (about 2-3 medium carrots, but weigh them)
Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Grease and line the base and sides of a 20cm loosebottomed round cake tin with baking parchment.
Toast the walnuts on a tray in the oven for 2-3 minutes, then set aside to cool. In a bowl, whisk the oil and orange juice together, then beat in the sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, mixed spice and almonds.
Add the sultanas, walnuts and carrot. Mix into the batter – it’ll seem stiff at first, but the carrots contain a lot of moisture, so the batter will loosen.
Transfer the mixture to the tin and bake for 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Leave to cool slightly, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool fully
Extracted from The Vegetarian Kitchen by Prue Leith & Peta Leith, published by Bluebird on 20 February, £25. © Prue Leith and Peta Leith. To order a copy for £17.99 go to mailshop.co.uk or call 01603 648155. P&P free. Offer valid until 31 March, 2020.
