Carrot Cake

Makes: 1 loaf

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

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1 cup (160g) all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ cup (120g) granulated sugar

½ cup (100g) lightly packed brown sugar

2/3 cup (150ml) canola or other vegetable oil

2 whole eggs

1 egg yolk

1 tsp vanilla extract

150g (2-3 medium carrots) grated and peeled

1 cup (100g) coarsely chopped walnuts (optional), plus extra for topping

½ cup (65g) raisins (optional)

Frosting

125g cream cheese, at room temperature

70g powdered sugar (icing sugar)

2-3 tbsp (approx. 40ml) whipping cream or milk

Method

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1. Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line a loaf tin.

2. Whisk together the dry ingredients. Separately whisk the wet ingredients, adding eggs and additional yolk one at a time until blended.

3. Using a spatula, add the dry to the wet in 3 parts. Stir in the carrots, nuts and raisins.

4. Bake until the tops of the cake are springy when touched, and a skewer inserted comes out clean. This should take about 40-50 minutes. Cool in pans for 15 mins before removing to cool on a wire rack.

5. For the frosting, beat the cream cheese for a minute then begin to incorporate the powdered sugar. Add the cream or milk in (you may need more or less depending on the consistency), but essentially you need enough for it to be a whipped cream consistency. Fluid and spreadable but not runny. Place the frosting on top of the cake, and sprinkle with some extra walnuts. Serve immediately or place in the fridge to keep for a few days.

Tip: use a food processor for grating the carrots to save time.