SPELT CARROT & FENNEL CAKE WITH WHEAT BEER CARAMEL, CRISPBREAD AND BLACKBERRIES

Wheat has never had it so good in this knockout dessert recipe we’ve created with @BASF! Moist spelt carrot cake doused in wheat beer caramel with juicy berries, crème fraîche and seeded crispbread to finish makes for a mega pud.

Ingredients

1 tbsp butter

320 g white spelt flour +1 tbsp for dusting

75 g hazelnuts

75 g pecan nuts

1 tbsp fennel seeds

4 medium carrots

110 g caster sugar

250 g soft light brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla paste

4 large eggs

190 ml vegetable oil

250 g unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp salt

260 g plain flour

80 g wholemeal flour

2 tbsp sunflower seeds

2 tbsp white sesame seeds

2 tbsp pumpkin seeds

2 tsp caraway seeds

120 ml extra virgin olive oil + extra for brushing

240 ml water

1 tsp salt

1 bulb fennel

200 g blackberries

25 ml Pernod

200 g caster sugar

120 ml wheat beer

120 g unsalted butter

120 ml double cream

150 g crème fraîche

Method

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Grease a silicone dome mould with butter, then dust with a little spelt flour.
Tip the nuts and fennel seeds onto a baking tray and toast in the oven for 6-8 minutes, until slightly golden and fragrant.
Blitz the carrots in a food processor (or coarsely grate). Tip them into a kitchen cloth and squeeze out as much liquid as possible over the sink.
Tip the sugars into a large mixing bowl. Add the vanilla paste, eggs, oil and applesauce, then whisk until completely combined.
Add the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, ground ginger, ground cinnamon and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the beater attachment. Combine the dry ingredients, then add the carrots and incorporate them into the mix.
Pour the egg mix into the bowl as it mixes slowly. Roughly chop the toasted nuts and fennel seeds, add them to the bowl and mix for a final 30 seconds. Carefully spoon the batter into the silicone dome mould and bake for 35-40 minutes, until when a skewer is inserted into the cake it comes out clean. Once cooked, remove the sponge from the oven and leave it to cool completely to room temperature.
Turn the oven down to 170ºC.
In a bowl mix together the flours and seeds for the crispbreads. In another bowl mix together the olive oil and water. Slowly incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry to make a soft dough. On a well-floured work surface, divide the dough into quarters and roll it out very thin (it should be almost see through).
Transfer to a baking tray and brush with extra olive oil. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Leave to cool.
Remove the fronds from the fennel and store them in ice water in the fridge. Take a few of the outer layers of the bulb, finely chop them and add them to a mixing bowl. Throw in the blackberries and sugar, then pour in the Pernod.
For the caramel, add the sugar to a large saucepan and pour in the beer. Put it over a high heat and stir once, then let the sugar dissolve into the beer. Bring to a boil and let it bubble for 7-8 minutes until it turns a deep amber. Beat in the butter 25g at a time, then take the caramel off the heat and beat in the double cream. Leave in the pan to cool.
Slice the blackberries crosswise into 3 and each sponge dome crosswise through the middle. Dollop crème fraîche into each of your serving bowls and place half a dome on each dollop. Spoon over the blackberry mixture and some of the caramel. Carefully place the other half of the sponge on top to sandwich the berries and caramel.
Drizzle more caramel over the sponge, then break the crispbreads into long shards and use them to surround the cake, covering it like a tent. Garnish with the fennel fronds and serve. Serves 6.