Carrot cake

Ingredients

For the carrot cake

• 140 ml vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing
• 2 eggs
• 200 g light brown sugar
• 300 g grated carrots, (grated weight)
• 100 g raisins
• 75 g pecans or walnuts, chopped (optional)
• 180 g self-raising flour
• 1 pinches salt
• 1/2 tspbicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp mixed spice

For the orange cream cheese icing

• 250 g cream cheese, chilled
• 50 g butter, at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 275 g icing sugar, sifted
• 1 orange, zest only

1. Preheat the oven to 150C/gas 2. Oil and line a 13 x 23cm loaf tin with greaseproof paper.

2. For the carrot cake: beat the eggs in a large bowl, then add the oil, brown sugar, grated carrot, raisins and chopped nuts.

3. Sift in the rest of the dry ingredients and bring the mixture together using a wooden or large metal spoon until well combined.

4. Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin, smooth the surface and bake in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

5. Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the tin for about five minutes before removing. Cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

6. For the icing: beat the cream cheese and butter together in a bowl until well combined. Add the vanilla extract, icing sugar and finely grated orange zest and mix until the icing is smooth and thick. Using a palette knife, spread the icing evenly over the cooled cake, dipping the knife into a bowl of hot water if the icing is hard to spread out. Cut into slices to serve.