Carrot and Coconut Teatime Cake

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I don’t mean to name drop but Ottolenghi and I are tight. If you follow me on Instagram (@belleannee) you’ll even find a pic of the two of us totally hanging out at Food Blogger Connect in London a few weeks ago.  And that picture — during the 15 seconds it took for the shot to get set up, snapped, double checked, and snapped again — well, during that time it was just the two of us. Arm in arm.  Sharing a moment in time.  Who can even remember what we chatted about, laughed about or sighed about?  Of course i was thinking, “OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS MAN’S FOOD” and he was probably thinking, “I must remember to pick up loo roll on the way home.” 

So maybe the relationship is a bit one-sided but I have still been a rider on the Ottolenghi bandwagon since way before Plenty hit the shelves.  Before Jeruselem.  And before the soon-to-be-released Plenty More (I originally typed that as More Plenty thinking that was the name.  I don’t know why but that is cracking me up #needmorefriends).  I have been extolling the virtues of Ottolenghi since, well, 2008, the year it was published.  I feel like that gives me some kind of special “in.”  It does, doesn’t it?

Aaaaaanyway.  Here I am, hanging out on the beach in Barbados in a bright, breezy house we rented right on the beach.  Not a care in the world except making sure we have enough sunscreen and books for 10 days when I heard the bookshelves whisper out to me…“I know you’re there.  I know your kind.  You want to cook.  I know you want to bake.  Come.  Come and see.  Come and see the cookbooks.”  Hmmm.  I was intrigued.  I strolled casually by, barely paying attention to those tempting little books, barely noticing the aged but familiar spines of Delia Smith, River Cafe, Tom Aiken and….there….barely getting any notice….there was Ottolenghi.   I cracked it open, flipped quickly to the back (where I knew I could find desserts) and immediately settled on a cake that has been haunting me lately:  Carrot and Walnut Cake.

I knew it was going to be a winner because I love carrot cake but I am turned off by the addition of crushed pineapple in every recipe I come across.  I have been searching and searching for the answer and had just accepted that I would have to figure it out myself when I came across this beauty!  After baking it exactly as he wrote the recipe I made a few changes that I prefer.  I added nutmeg (or ginger as you will see in the notes), simplified the frosting and added a bit more egg white to the batter.    The recipe below reflects my changes but his exact recipe can be found in the original Ottolenghi cookbook.

Keep in mind this not a fluffy, double-layer, birthday-cake carrot cake.  This is a spicy, coconutty, single layer sheet-pan or loaf pan cake.  It would be great in any season and would make an excellent cake as a gift for someone (like for the word’s best plumber in New Orleans whom I promised a carrot cake nearly a year ago… stress).  And this is actually absolutely perfect for afternoon tea wherever you might be in the world.  

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