Carrot Cake

Winter Chillzzz.....

Winter is Finally here, and for a change Its actually chilly in Mumbai. Winter in Mumbai means the season for Fresh strawberries, and Figs..and Red Carrots...Yess, red carrots are in season, so its the season for carrot Halwa, and fresh carrot juice. So this time I thought let me also try a carrot cake, since i've always heard so much about it.
I have actually tried a carrot cake one time before....but this was like way back (at a time when i thought how can carrots be in a cake)...but it had not turned out good. I don't know why but nobody had liked it.
Any ways i still decided to give it another try. this was the recipe i zeroed on. and it turned out pretty good. what more could anyone want with a cup of tea than a piece of whole wheat healthy carrot cake

Ingredients:
175g light muscovado sugar
175ml sunflower oil
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
140g grated carrots (about 3 medium)
100g chopped dates
grated zest of 1 large orange
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup ground oats
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp dried ginger powder (optional)
½ tsp grated nutmeg (freshly grated will give you the best flavour)
1 tbsp orange juice.

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180 C. Oil and line the base and sides of a square cake tin with baking parchment.
Tip the sugar into a large mixing bowl, pour in the oil and add the eggs. Lightly mix with a wooden spoon. Stir in the grated carrots, raisins and orange rind.
Mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices, then sift into the bowl. Lightly mix all the ingredients – when everything is evenly amalgamated stop mixing. The mixture will be fairly soft and almost runny.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 40- 45 minutes, until it feels firm and springy when you press it in the centre. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn it out, peel off the paper and cool on a wire rack. (You can freeze the cake at this point.)
Beat together the frosting ingredients in a small bowl until smooth – you want the icing about as runny as single cream. Set the cake on a serving plate and boldly drizzle the icing back and forth in diagonal lines over the top, letting it drip down the sides.