Ingredients
• 225g (1 1/2 cups) self-raising flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon mixed spice
• 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• 230g (1 cup) firmly packed brown sugar
• 185g (1 cup) cooked quinoa
• 310g (2 cups) firmly packed coarsely grated carrot
• 55g (⅓ cup) dried pitted dates, chopped
• 185ml (3/4 cup) vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
Cream cheese frosting
• 125g cream cheese
• 20g unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• 90g (3/4 cup) icing sugar mixture, sifted
Method
1. Preheat oven to 170ºC or 150°C fan forced. Grease a 20cm square (base measurement) baking tin and line the base and sides with baking paper.
2. In a large mixing bowl, sift flour, cinnamon and mixed spice together, add the zest, sugar, quinoa, carrot, dates and stir to combine. Whisk oil, vanilla and eggs together, add to mixture and stir until well combined.
3. Spoon batter into prepared tin and bake for 50-60 minutes or until firm to touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with a few moist crumbs (you may need to cover cake with foil if browning too quickly). Transfer to a wire rack and set aside to cool for 15 minutes, then remove from tin and set aside to cool completely.
4. To make the icing beat the cream cheese, butter and zest together with electric beaters until smooth. Add icing sugar and beat until well combined. Spread evenly over top of cooled carrot cake and serve.
