Vegan Carrot Cake

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Serves 16 - Ready in 1 hour 10 minutes

Decorate with an Easter bunny and fondant carrots planted in biscuit-crumb ‘soil’ to give this simple cake a seasonal twist

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Ingredients       

  • 120ml Co-op vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing
  • 200g Co-op Fairtrade light brown soft sugar
  • 2 ripe bananas, mashed
  • 120ml unsweetened almond drink 2 tbsp vegan cider vinegar
  • 250g Co-op self-raising white flour 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 1\2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground mixed spice
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 300g carrots, coarsely grated

For the buttercream 100g vegan spread

  • 300g Fairtrade icing sugar 60g vegan soft cheese alternative

To decorate

  • 85g vegan fondant icing
  • Black, pink and orange vegan gel food colouring
  • 2 rosemary sprigs
  • 2 Co-op ginger nut biscuits, crushed

 Method       

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4
  2. Grease and line two 20cm loose-bottomed cake tins
  3. In a large bowl, mix together the sugar, oil, banana, almond drink and cider vinegar
  4. Sift in the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and spices, and whisk until smooth
  5. Fold in the grated carrot, then divide the mixture between the cake tins
  6. Bake for 40-45 mins, until golden, risen and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean
  7. Leave to cool in the tins for 10 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool fully
  8. To make the buttercream, beat the vegan spread and icing sugar until smooth, then mix in the vegan soft cheese
  9. Put one cake on a plate and cover with the icing. Top with the second cake and smooth the rest of the icing around the top and sides
  10. Chill in the fridge to set for 20 mins
  11. Meanwhile, take a quarter of the fondant and roll into a ball. Use another quarter to make bunny ears and feet
  12. Attach to the ball and use a cocktail stick and black and pink food gel to draw on eyes, ears, a nose and feet. (Or mix the pink gel with a piece of fondant and use this to decorate the bunny instead)
  13. Knead some orange gel into the remaining fondant, then shape into carrots
  14. Stick small rosemary sprigs into the top of each and score lines along the side to complete the look
  15. Using the handle of a wooden spoon, poke holes into the chilled cake so you can ‘plant’ some carrots
  16. Decorate with the bunny and the remaining carrots and sprinkle with the crushed biscuit for a soil effect