Banana & carrot cake

(Wheat free, gluten free, egg free, nut free, dairy free)

SUDDENLY Sidney’s second birthday was upon us and I realised that, nope, I hadn’t spent the entire past year transforming myself into the queen of allergy friendly baking after all. And I had no idea what cake I was going to make.

For his first we managed, after much effort, to create a decent Victoria-style sponge, but I didn’t want to churn out the same staple year after year. I needed a repertoire of treats. Plus we were now free to eat banana, Sid having outgrown that ridiculous allergy at 18 months… and banana can be a handy substitute for egg in cake recipes.

In the end, this recipe was pilfered from the back of a Doves Farm flour packet, but I found the original too sweet, so ditched the vanilla, added some carrot and bolstered it with baking flour because the first few efforts fell flat. The result is a lovely, moist sponge that can be served up on its own with a cup of tea, or that works well with a cream cheese frosting and a fine grating of Kinnerton dark chocolate.

For this year, at least, Sid was delighted just to have a slice of cake and a candle to blow out. For next year, however, I may have to start thinking about how the buggery to ice an Upsy Daisy…

Ingredients

125g caster sugar

150g Doves Farm gluten & wheat free self-raising flour

6tbsps sunflower oil

4tbsps water

Half a ripe banana

One small finely grated carrot

3tspns baking powder (I use Barkat)

Sainsbury’s SO Organic cream cheese

Icing sugar (avoid Silver Spoon – it contains traces of egg)

18cm round cake tin

Bar of Kinnerton dark chocolate

Method

In a bowl, beat together the sugar and oil, then add the peeled and mashed banana and finely grated carrot to the mix.

Add in the flour, water and baking powder and mix together well.

Plop the mixture into a lightly oiled 18cm round cake tin and smooth the top.

Bake in a 180˚F, non fan oven for around 30 minutes or until golden.

Turn the cake out on to a rack to cool.

Mix the tub of cream cheese with icing sugar to taste and, using the back of a spoon or a spatula, apply to the top of the cake.

Add a light dusting of finely grated chocolate and…