275g Plain four
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
175g grated carrot
4 tablespoons honey
100ml orange juice
3 eggs, beaten
175 ml sunflower oil
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
Small bunch (about 110g) of seedless green grapes, halved if large

For the mascarpone cream:
250g tub of mascarpone cheese
1 tablespoon icing sugar
a few drops of vanilla essence

Preheat the oven to 180ºC / gas mark 4.  Line the bottom and sides of a 22-23cm springform cake tin with greaseproof paper.

Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder into a large bowl.  Then add all the remaining ingredients, except for the grapes, and mix thoroughly.  Fold in the grapes and pour the mixture into the prepared tin.

Cook in the preheated oven for about 1½ hours, covering the top with foil after one hour.  The cake is ready when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

To make the mascarpone cream, sweeten the mascarpone with sieved icing sugar.  Add the vanilla and beat together.  Add the vanilla and beat together.  Serve each slice of cake with a generous dollop of cream.

300g Caster Sugar
125g Butter
2 egg yolks
Finely grated zest of 2 lemons & 4 tablespoons juice
2 teaspoons freshly ground cumin seeds
300g plain flour
1teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

Preheat oven to 170ºC (gas mark 3)

Cream sugar and butter together until light and fluffy.  Gradually beat in the egg yolks, lemon zest, lemon juice and cumin.  Sift together flour and bicarb of soda, then fold into the butter mixture to form a soft dough.

Place dough on sheet of greaseproof paper and roll into a cylinder about 5cm in diameter, twisting the ends of the paper together and being careful not to squash or trap the dough.  Place dough in freezer for 1½ hours until hard.

Line a baking sheet with a piece of greaseproof paper.  Unwrap the dough and cut into 5mm slices.  Place these on the baking sheet, leaving a very generous space between them to allow for spreading.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until just firm to the touch.  Slice them onto a wire rack and leave to cool.

Enjoy!!

Great on their own, with icecream or cheese and can be served warm.  These are so easy to make, can be frozen and then cut and baked as required.