Carrot and Ginger Cake
In this cake, vegetable oil is used as the main source of fat instead of the more common additive of butter.
I first made this moist, succulent cake when I was a fresh and relatively inexperienced chef...and damn, did I ever screw it up! Nervous in a new kitchen I made the mistake of grabbing the olive oil instead of the vegetable oil which when baked in cakes has quite a repugnant flavour. I only realised my mistake when a customer came screaming into the shop to throw his carrot cake onto the floor before commencing to tug and pull at his thinning hair. I then had to put up with the front of house manager, head chef, shop owner, the red-faced customer and the chef-de-partie all screaming at yours truly in horrifying unison. It wasn't a pleasant experience and even now, nine years down the line my hand trembles when I reach for the oil....

Makes 1 cake

Ingredients
285g / 10oz brown sugar
200g / 7oz vegetable oil
3 large eggs (or 4 medium)
1 Tsp vanilla
200g / 7oz self raising flour
1 Tsp baking powder
1/2 Tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 Tsp cinnamon
1 Tsp ground ginger
400g / 14oz carrot
3cm / 1thumb fresh ginger
110g/ 4oz walnut
1/2 lemon, juice of
pinch of salt

For the icing:
250g / 9oz butter
250g / 9oz cream cheese
250g / 9oz icing sugar
1/2 lemon, juice of
1 Tsp ginger
1 Tsp vanilla
110g / 4oz walnuts

Mise-en-Place:
Preheat the oven to 160°C / 310°F
Grease and line an 8 inch baking tin with baking parchment and melted butter
Weigh the ingredients
Mix the dry ingredients together
Either cut or pound the walnut into pieces
Peel then grate the carrot and ginger, mix together with the walnut

Method:
In a mixer or with an electronic whisk:
Beat the brown sugar, eggs and oil until the mix changes to a lighter colour and increases in volume. (When done correctly and you lift the whisk a soft 'trail' or 'ribbon' should form.)
Mix in the dry ingredients
Mix in the carrot, walnut, ginger, salt and lemon juice
Pour the mix into the prepared baking tin
Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes
To test if the cake is cooked, insert a skewer or knife into the cake, if the knife, when pulled out, is wet with uncooked cake mix return to the oven for another 5 minutes. If the knife or skewer is dry, the cake is cooked
Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the cake tin

To make the icing:
Beat the butter until soft, light and 'fluffy'
Beat in the cream cheese
Beat in the icing sugar
Add the lemon juice, vanilla and ground ginger
Taste and season to your palate

To ice the cake:
If you desire you can cut the cake in half and sandwich the two halves with a layer of icing. Otherwise ice the cake as normal.
When using a white icing upon a dark-coloured cake it is important to trap any crumbs beneath a thin base layer. This prevents any crumbs ruining the final icing.
Once the initial layer has been added you can build upon this to create more depth
Sprinkle the icing with the walnuts (you can leave these whole or broken according to your views on presentation)
Cut and serve

Where you went wrong:
Unrisen or flat cake: Incorrectly measured ingredients / Oven not hot enough / You removed the cake before it had finished cooking and as a result it has sunk
Bland taste: You didn't add enough ginger / you forgot to add the pinch of salt
Icing too soft: You used a soft margarine instead of butter or a firm baker's margarine / you added too much lemon juice / not enough icing sugar

Chef Tip: Cake threatening to burn before it can cook through? Loosely wrap a layer of tin foil over the cake. Do not wrap too tightly as the cake will then steam instead of baking.
Layering tin foil over the cake surface will protect it's skin from burning, yet still allow the centre to cook through.


Science behind the dish:
As the oven heats the cake mix the self raising flour begins to release carbon dioxide, these small bubbles of gas expand with the application of heat causing the cake to rise. As the cake continues to cook the starch granules in the flour swell, reducing the liquid and firming the cake. The egg proteins set into a protective mesh that traps and binds the air bubbles.
By the time the cake has finished baking it has set into a solid foam comprised of swollen starch, air bubbles and set proteins.