Carrot Cake

Take this fool-proof recipe and adapt it how you like, adding your choice of toppings and decorations. If you don’t want to make one big cake, scoop the mixture into muffin cases instead.

155ml sunflower oil, plus extra for greasing
230g self-raising flour
1tsp baking powder
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp mixed spice
½ tsp ground ginger
230g light brown muscovado sugar
The zest of 1 orange
100g pecans, halved
260g carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
3 medium free-range eggs, beaten

For the icing:

50g butter, softened
200g full-fat cream cheese – half fat/fat free won’t set properly
100g icing sugar, plus extra to dust
The zest of 1 orange

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease an 18cm loose-bottomed round cake tin and line the base with baking paper.
Sift the flour, baking powder and spices into a large bowl.
Add the sugar, zest, pecan halves and grated carrots, then stir until well combined.
Stir in the beaten eggs and oil, then mix well.
Pour into the prepared cake tin and bake in the oven for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean.
Transfer to a cooling rack and leave to cool completely before icing.
For the icing, beat the butter in a large bowl with a hand mixer until soft.
Add the cream cheese and beat again until well mixed.
Sift over the icing sugar and add the orange zest, then beat until smooth.
Store, covered, in the fridge until needed.

Decorate your carrot cake how you wish, with candy carrots, and festive treats. If you choose to cover the whole cake in the icing, it looks (and tastes) great if you cover the sides in chopped toasted nuts.