Leek, Carrot and Feta Savoury Carrot Cake – a delicious alternative to a traditional sweet carrot cake. Enjoy it as a delicious addition to an Easter lunch gathering. It will also make a tasty, quick lunch served with a side salad. And for those balmy summer days, it’s super to take on a picnic. You can also serve cubed as finger food at a party.
The cake freezes very well, so you could cut into slices and freeze the individual slices to give you packed lunches for weeks ahead.
| Nut Free Vegetarian |
Cuisine British
Time 30 – 60 mins
Skill Level Confident
Serves 8
Ingredients
| 60ml olive oil |
| 1 small to medium leek, about 100g, finely chopped |
| 1 tsp to 1 1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds, roughly ground |
| 2 tsp brown mustard seeds |
| 2 medium organic carrots, about 200g, coarsely grated |
| 200g feta cheese, chopped into cubes |
| 100g white spelt flour |
| 100g polenta (maize meal) |
| 1 1/2 tsp baking powder |
| 1/2 tsp sea salt |
| freshly ground black peppercorns, to taste |
| 3 organic eggs |
| 150ml milk |
Method
- Pre-heat your oven to 180C (350F).
- Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the leeks and stir-fry for about 5 minutes, until the leeks start to wilt. Add the cumin and the brown mustard seed and stir-fry for another 2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Put the spelt flour, the polenta, the baking powder, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper in a medium to large mixing bowl. Add the grated carrot, the crumbled feta cheese and the spiced wilted leeks and mix until well combined.
- In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the milk and add this to the leek, carrot, flour and polenta mix.
- Mix until just combined, then transfer the batter to a 20cm round or square cake tin, or 10 to 12 muffin tins.
- Bake for about 45 minutes if you are making one big cake, or about 15 minutes if you are making individual cakes, or until a skewer or a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in the tin for 5 to 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool further.
- Serve warm or cold with a side salad or coleslaw.
