Learn how to make Carter’s Honey Carrot Cake with Spiced Honey Apricots and Honey Cream
Inspire your kids to learn to cook with this amazing recipe from Junior MasterChef contestant, Carter!
Serves 6
Ingredients
Honey Carrot Cake
120g pecans
400g carrots, coarsely grated
225g plain flour
150g brown sugar
110g caster sugar
1 tbsp honey
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
125ml vegetable oil
70g greek yoghurt
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla essence
Spiced Honey Apricots
¾ cup caster sugar
¼ cup water
2½ tbs honey
2 star anise
1 tsp ground cinnamon
150g dried apricots, 5mm dice
Honey Cream
300ml thickened cream
1 vanilla pod, seeds scraped
2 tbsp honey
Honey Glazed Carrots
1 bunch dutch carrots, peeled and stems trimmed
15g unsalted butter
2 tbsp honey
Garnish
Small dutch carrot leaves, to serve
Steps
1. Preheat oven to 160°C fan forced. Grease and line a 20cm square cake tin with baking paper.
2. For the Honey Carrot Cake, finely chop 10g of pecans and set aside.
3. Combine all remaining ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer batter to a medium bowl, add reserved chopped pecans and fold through.
4. Transfer batter to lined cake tin and bake for 50 minutes or until cooked through. Set cake aside to cool in tin.
5. Once cool, turn cake out onto a chopping board, trim and discard edges from the cake. Cut 6 rectangular portions, 12cm long and 4cm wide.
6. For the Spiced Honey Apricots, combine sugar, water, honey, star anise and cinnamon in a small saucepan over high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.
7. Add apricots and cook in the glaze for 3 minutes or until soft and plump. Set pan aside, leaving apricots to cool in the glaze.
8. For the Honey Cream, combine cream and scraped vanilla seeds in a medium bowl. Whilst beating with electric beaters, gradually add the honey and continue beating to firm peaks. Chill until required.
9. For the Honey Glazed Carrots, bring a medium saucepan of water to the boil and place a metal steaming basket over the water. Add carrots to the basket, cover with a lid and cook for 3-4 minutes or until almost tender. Transfer carrots to chopping board and cut on a 45 degree angle, approx 3 cm in height, with a flat base to stand upright.
10. In a large frying pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add honey and stir through. Add carrots and toss to coat, cooking for 30 seconds or until tender and glazed.
11. To serve, briefly whip Honey Cream again, to firm peaks.
12. Place a portion of Honey Carrot Cake in the centre of each serving plate and place Honey Glazed Carrots around. Top cake with Spiced Honey Apricots and syrup and a quenelle of the Honey Cream. Scatter a few carrot leaves over the dish.