Gluten Free Carrot Courgette Cake by Lily Vanilli

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180ºc fan/ gas mark 4. 

Grease two 23 cm (9 inch) round cake tins well, with olive oil or butter.

Gently squeeze any excess moisture from the grated vegetables and set aside.

Whisk together the eggs and sugar on high speed until really light and airy – approximately 5 minutes. Slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream, beating just enough to mix in evenly.

Mix together the ground almonds and the baking powder, and fold into the wet mixture along with the spices and coconut. Finally, fold in the carrots, courgettes, sultanas, (and seeds if using).

Divide the mixture evenly between the two prepared cake tins and level out to the edges. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the top has risen and a cocktail stick inserted into the centre comes out crumby but clean (I.e. no raw batter on it, there may be a few soft crumbs).

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cake is baking, prepare the icing. Beat the butter alone for 4-5 minutes, then add the cream cheese and beat for another 2 minutes. Add the icing sugar and vanilla and beat for another 2 minutes, until smooth and evenly incorporated.

Once the cake has cooled, spread the base layer with the cream cheese frosting and then sandwich together and spread more frosting on the top. I decorated mine with foraged fresh jasmine.