Carrot Cake Slice

• Preheat your oven to 150℃/300°F (fan forced). Line a small 20 x 30cm tin with greaseproof paper.
• In a mixing bowl mix the carrot, dried fruit, and all dry ingredients.
• In a small bowl or jug beat the eggs, butter or oil and zest together.
• Add to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
• Pour into the tin and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until firm to touch in the middle.

Thermomix method

• Grind your seeds, 30 sec, speed 8. Set aside. If you are grinding your own gluten or grain-free flour do this now also.
• Weigh and grate your chopped carrot, 5 seconds, speed 5. Set aside.
• Melt the butter, 1 minute, 80 degrees, speed 4.
• Add the eggs and zest and mix 30 seconds, speed 5.
• Add the carrot and dried fruit and mix, 30 seconds, reverse speed 3.
• Add the flour, seeds, sugar, spices, bicarb and baking soda. Mix 5-10 seconds until just combined (scraping the sides), speed 4. Don't over-mix as it will become tough.

Time saving tip

• I use a lot of ground seeds in my baking. One, because my lunchbox treats need to be nut free and secondly because seeds are very nutritious. For example, pepitas are a rich source of zinc, a mineral that often assists fussy eaters. So instead of supplementing to improve their desire and palate for food, include pepitas where you can. My kids aren't a fan of their flavour so I grind them. If you plan to use them this way, you can grind a small batch of one or a mixture of seeds to keep in the fridge in an airtight glass container ( a jar is good).

Cakes gone 'green' (or flecked green)

• You may have noticed that your seed containing cakes or cookies turn or fleck 'green'.

  I can explain...Sunflower seeds contain chlorogenic acid which reacts with the baking powder and bicarb when it's heated and turns various shades of green when cooled.

  To reduce the ‘shrek-look’ you can reduce the baking powder or bicarb (by about a third) or add 2 tsp lemon juice or vinegar to the wet ingredients. But remember - even if they do turn green, they are completely safe to eat. You might even like to use this as a way to turn cakes green on purpose?

Store

• In an airtight container or it can be frozen in an airtight container or bag.