Carrot cake friands.

I bought What Katie Ate recipe book in February and up until last week I hadn't made anything from it. I can't tell you why. I just hadn't. The book is full of the most beautiful recipes with even more beautiful photographs. When I grow up I want to produce a book like this. It's definitely worth a buy.

Take a look at her blog here!

Anyway onto the recipe. All bar chocolate cake and a really good Victoria sponge, I think carrot cake is my favourite. But let me get this straight to me and carrot cake should contain carrot and cake ingredients only. No raisins, no nuts (they belong on top), no pineapple. Just no. I'm a fussy one when it comes to carrot cake. So I adapted the recipe to suit my fussy needs.

Ingredients

75g brown sugar

125ml vegetable oil

125ml runny honey, plus extra for drizzling

3 free range eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

225g plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Pinch salt

3 carrots, grated

For the icing

135g icing sugar, sifted

85g unsalted butter, softened

80g cream cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 180º. Grease a 12-hole muffin tin.

Place the brown sugar, oil, honey, eggs and vanilla into a large bowl.

Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into another large bowl.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well to combine.

Stir in the grated carrot.

Pour the mixture into the prepared muffin cases, filling each hole three-quarters full.

Bake for 20-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of a cake comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the mould and allow to cool on wire racks.

To make the icing, beat the butter, vanilla and cream cheese together in a small bowl before gradually adding the sifted icing sugar and mixing to a smooth consistency.

Ice the cooled friands and serve them topped with a scatter of the chopped walnuts and a drizzle of honey if you like.

Enjoy. Be warned these are a bit messy!