Carrot Cake

Ingredients

For 12 portions

• 🌾 250g flour
• 🧂 1 Tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 🍚 1 Tsp baking powder
• 🌿 2 Tsp cinnamon
• 🪴 1 Tsp ground ginger
• 🌿 0.5 Tsp nutmeg
• 🧂 1 pinch salt
• 🍚 250g brown sugar
• 🏺 200ml sunflower oil
• 🍳 3 large egg
• 🥕 300g carrots
• 🍇 75g sultanas
• 🌰 100g walnuts
• 🧀 300g cream cheese
• 🧈 75g butter
• 🍚 150g white confectioner’s sugar
• 🥄 1 Tsp vanilla extract

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan). Grease a 23 cm square or round cake tin and line it with baking paper.
2. Toast the walnuts in a dry pan for 3–4 minutes, then roughly chop them. Keep a handful back for the top.
3. In a large bowl, mix the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt.
4. In another bowl, whisk the brown sugar, sunflower oil and eggs until smooth and slightly thickened.
5. Finely grate the carrots. Stir them into the egg mixture with the sultanas and the chopped walnuts.
6. Fold the wet mixture into the dry until just combined, scrape into the tin and level the top.
7. Bake for 40–50 minutes, until risen and a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
8. For the frosting, beat the soft butter until creamy, then beat in the icing sugar and vanilla. Add the cold cream cheese and beat briefly, just until smooth and thick. Over-beating cream cheese makes it runny.
9. Spread the frosting over the top of the cooled cake and scatter with the reserved walnuts. Keep it in the fridge, and take it out 30 minutes before serving.