Spoon Helps to Ice Carrot Cake!

So I've been meaning to make a vegan carrot cake for aaages. It seemed like a good idea - carrot cakes are moist and fairly heavy as cakes go, so what's the chances of it being to different to one with eggs in?

There are hundreds of recipes online, so just had a look around and got a general idea of what I should be doing and then decided to wing it!

So here goes!

Ingredients
2 large carrots
a few bits of sliced dried mango
A tea spoon of: Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Ground Ginger, Vanilla Essence
200g Sultanas
200g soft brown sugar
200ml Orange Juice
200ml Groundnut Oil
250g Organic, unbleached, Self-Raising Flour

320g Icing Sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence
As much OJ as needed!

Method

Grate the carrots - not your fingers - throw them into your mixing bowl.

 Me.... grating carrots

Throw into the bowl the sliced dried mango, spices, sugar.... everything up until the flour and combine well.

 

Me... weighing the sugar

Have a rest, you've worked hard. Drink some of the Orange Juice that you squeezed fresh
(who am I kidding, I bought a carton)

 Mix before the flour's been added

Add the flour to the mix, don't over-mix, a max of 10 stirs

Put the mix into a shallow tray and bake at 170 degrees C for... 30 mins. Until cooked.

For the Icing.....

Put the icing sugar into the bowl with the Vanilla Essence. Add the Orange Juice until it's stiff but you're able to pour it. 

 

You know the cake is cooked when you stick a skewer in it and it comes out clean. Tip it onto a cooling rack.

Now.... Make it look Beautiful. With the help of your special spoon :)

I am not entirely impressed with this, too many sultanas and not enough.... cake?! But tastes ok. I have high standards though....Ha ha! I shall try another one soon with less sultanas!

UPDATE! 2 Days later....
Well, I am happy to say that this cake gets better with age, it is amazing now, moist, full of flavour and impossible to walk past without slicing off a piece! I have removed the knife for my own safety! I'm less likely to grab a slice if I don't have an implement!