There is absolutely nothing quite like taking off your muddy boots after a long, windswept day on the trails, brewing a massive pot of tea, and tucking into a proper slice of cake.
When I’ve been out clocking miles across the hills, a hearty, energy-restoring feast is the only thing on my mind by the time we get home.
For the latest addition to our Post Hike Feasts category, I’m sharing a brilliant carrot cake that hits all the right notes for recovery.
It’s dense, moist, and packed with the good stuff. I’ve tweaked a wonderfully simple, classic recipe over the time to give it a bit more of an outdoorsy twist—adding a dash of ground ginger for warmth, throwing in a handful of sultanas, and swapping out some of the sugar for maple syrup to give you a more natural energy kick.
The prep is delightfully minimal, which is exactly what you need when your legs are tired and the dogs are sitting by the counter, watching your every move in the kitchen in the hopes of a dropped carrot.
Hearty Carrot and Walnut Cake: A Post-Hike Recipe
A simple, dense, and delicious carrot and walnut cake recipe. Easy prep, rich olive oil sponge, and a light cream cheese frosting. The ideal trail recovery food.
12
servings20
minutes1
hour510
kcalIngredients
- For the Cake:
350 g self-raising flour, sifted
250 g dark soft brown sugar (sifted)
3 tbsp maple syrup (for that extra bit of recovery energy)
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger (perfect for warming up after a chilly walk)
250 g coarsely grated carrots
100 g walnuts, roughly chopped
A good handful of sultanas
4 medium eggs
200 ml olive oil (it sounds unusual, but it gives the cake an incredibly rich, moist texture)
4 tbsp milk
- For the Frosting
180 g full-fat cream cheese
30 g icing sugar, sifted
A handful of finely cut walnuts for the top
Directions
- First things first, preheat your oven to 180°C (160°C for a fan oven / Gas Mark 4). Grab a 22cm round cake tin and give it a good double-lining with greaseproof paper. This is crucial as it stops the edges from catching during the long bake.
- In a large mixing bowl, chuck in your dry ingredients—the flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, chopped walnuts, sultanas, and those coarsely grated carrots. Give it all a good stir.
- In a separate jug, beat the eggs, olive oil, milk, and maple syrup together.
- Slowly pour your wet mixture into the dry ingredients. Stir it through gently but thoroughly, making sure there are no pockets of flour hiding at the bottom.
- Tip the batter into your lined cake tin and pop it in the oven for about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool completely on a wire rack. While you wait, mix the cream cheese and icing sugar together. Spread it generously over the top of the cooled cake and scatter with the remaining crushed walnuts.
Cut yourself a massive wedge, put your feet up, and enjoy. Let me know in the comments what your go-to post-walk sweet treat is!
