King of the carrot cakes

A good carrot cake is pretty hard to beat and most certainly a favourite in our house!! I've tried (and tested) various recipes over the years and they've ranged from flat and crispy to overly juicy. This one is the winner hands down. It's richly fruited with a subtle crunch, moist but not soggy and perfectly creates a heavenly aroma! (Oh, and incredibly easy too - winner winner)!!

Ingredients

225ml vegetable oil

75g light brown sugar

75g dark brown sugar

3 medium eggs

175g self raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

1tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

a pinch of nutmeg

a pinch of salt

50g chopped walnuts

75g raisins

225g carrots, grated (about 2 medium)

For the icing

75g cream cheese

250g icing sugar

Method

1. Grease/line a large loaf tin and preheat the oven to 170C.

2. Beat the oil and sugar together until fully combined, then add the eggs. Mix well.

3. Add the flour, baking powder, spices and salt. Mix again.

4. Then add in the walnuts, raisins and carrots.

5. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 30 - 35 mins until firm and golden.

6. Leave to completely cool on a wire rack.

7. For the icing, simply mix the cream cheese and sugar.

8. Spread over the cake and leave to set in the fridge.

9. Enjoy !! :)