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Ginger Carrot Cake with Salted Butterscotch Frosting

This two-tiered cake serves a crowd, but you can make a single cake by halving the mixture and using one egg and an egg yolk. It also keeps well for two to three days. From: gourmettraveller.com.au

300 gm coarsely grated carrot (about 2 carrots)
200 gm (1 1/3 cups) plain flour
160 gm each caster sugar and brown sugar
120 gm shredded coconut or coconut flakes
100 gm oats, blitzed in a food processor
2½ tsp baking powder
2 tsp each ground cinnamon and ground ginger
½ tsp finely grated nutmeg and ground cloves
Finely grated rind of 1 orange and 1 lemon
200 gm sour cream
100 ml almond oil
3 eggs
To serve:
chopped roasted hazelnuts, and carrot thinly shaved crossways and tossed in orange juice, brown sugar and cinnamon
Salted butterscotch frosting
30 gm butter, coarsely chopped
30 gm brown sugar
2 tsp golden syrup
100 gm sour cream
450 gm pure icing sugar, sieved

Preheat oven to 180C. Butter two 22cm-diameter springform cake tins and line bases and sides with baking paper. Stir carrot, dry ingredients, rinds and ½ tsp sea salt in a large bowl to combine and make a well in the centre. Whisk sour cream, almond oil and eggs in a separate bowl until smooth, add to well and stir to combine. Divide among prepared tins, smooth tops and bake, swapping tins halfway through cooking time, until golden brown and a skewer inserted withdraws clean (45-50 minutes). Cool in tins for 15 minutes, then cool completely on a wire rack.

For salted butterscotch frosting, melt butter in a saucepan over low heat, then stir in sugar and golden syrup until smooth and sugar dissolves. Bring to the simmer and stir continuously until slightly thickened (1-2 minutes), stir in sour cream to combine, then remove from heat and stir in icing sugar until smooth. Stir in 1½ tsp sea salt flakes and set aside to cool to spreading consistency (15-20 minutes).

Spread half the frosting over the top of each cake, then stack one cake on top of the other. Scatter with roast hazelnuts and the shaved carrot to serve.