Carrot cake
Makes 2 layer cake or approx. 12 cupcakes
- 200g light brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 200ml sunflower oil
- 200g flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon plus extra to decorate
- Half tsp ground ginger
- Quarter tsp salt
- Half tsp vanilla extract
- 200g carrots peeled and grated
- 75g shelled walnuts, chopped plus extra whole to decorate
Icing
- 300g icing sugar, sifted
- 50g butter at room temperature
- 125g cream cheese, cold
- Preheat the oven to 170 deg C, 325 deg F, gas 3
- Whisk together the sugar, eggs and oil
- Slowly add the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and salt and continue to whisk until well mixed
- Stir in the carrots and walnuts by hand until it is a consistent mixture
- Spoon the mix into prepared tins (greased and lined with greaseproof paper) or cake cases
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and the sponge bounces back when touched gently
- Leave the cakes to cool for around 10 minutes then turn on to a cooling rack to cool completely
- For the icing, slowly mix together the sugar and butter until the mixture comes together. Don’t whisk too fast or you and your kitchen will be covered in sugar dust!
- Add the cream cheese and turn the mixer up to a medium/high speed and the icing is light and fluffy (this will take at least 5 minutes but don’t overbeat it or it will go runny
- When the cakes are completely cool.
If you have made cupcakes, put a large spoon of icing, a walnut and a sprinkling of cinnamon on each one.
If you have made a large cake, put icing between the two layers and on top and decorate the top with walnuts and cinnamon.