Carrot cake with pear, walnuts and orange zest

Ingredients

• carrots — 300 g
• pear — 1
• brown sugar — 200 g
• white sugar — 100 g
• vanilla sugar — 1 tsp
• salt — 1/4 tsp
• vegetable oil — 230 ml
• eggs — 4
• flour — 350 g
• baking powder — 1/4 tsp
• cinnamon — 1/2 tsp
• nutmeg and cloves — 1/2 tsp
• walnuts — 150 g
• orange zest
• lemon zest

Method

1. Peel the carrots and grate them finely. If they release a lot of juice, drain it.
2. Dice the pear.
3. In a deep bowl, mix the sugar, salt and vegetable oil. Beat with a mixer for 3–4 minutes so that the oil does not separate later.
4. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat well to a smooth, viscous consistency.
5. Add the flour with the baking powder and beat.
6. Then add the cinnamon, carrots, nutmeg and cloves. Beat until the carrot is evenly distributed.
7. Add the nuts and pear and fold with a spatula.
8. Transfer the batter to a tin. Bake in an oven preheated to 160°C for about 1 hour. Check with a skewer — your oven may need a little more or less time.

Tips

• The amount of sugar can always be reduced.
• Use only refined, odourless vegetable oil.
• All the spices are optional and can be adjusted to taste.