Dangling the carrot

Right, no time to be shy, because it will just come across as false modesty: the truth is, people go crazy for my carrot cake. Strictly, it’s not mine, but the flour-dusted work of Hilary Biller, Jenny Kay and Elinor Storkey who wrote the unglamorous but indispensable 101 Fuss-free Bakes (Struik, 2005). But I have tweaked it slightly, making it moister and spicier (and, thereby, even more irresistible). The cream cheese icing is the cherry on top: fluffy, buttery and slightly tart.

The recipe makes two cakes, one which I’ll take to family or the office and the other that Arthur eats half of (no, I’m not joking, it’s that good), before taking it to his company, where it is met with joyous cries of “Cake or death? Cake, please!” (here’s the joke, in case you don’t know it). So, finally, after much (relentlessly persistent) cajoling from friends and colleagues, here is the (moister! spicier!) famous carrot cake recipe. Like all good baking recipes, it’s super simple (the only fiddly bit is the carrot-grating) and never fails.

‘Make like rabbits’ irresistible carrot cake

4 extra-large eggs
310ml white sugar
250ml sunflower oil
500ml cake flour
10ml bicarbonate of soda
10ml ground cinnamon
5ml ground ginger
5ml ground mixed spice
5ml salt
3 x 250ml peeled and grated raw carrots
440g tin crushed pineapple, drained
100g pecan nuts, chopped

cream cheese icing
80g butter
125g thick cream cheese
5ml vanilla essence (or half the amount of real vanilla extract)
500ml icing sugar, sifted
10ml very finely grated orange or lemon zest (optional)

For the cake, beat the eggs and sugar until thick and pale. Beat in the oil. Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, ground spices and salt, and stir into the egg mixture. Mix in the grated carrot, drained pineapple and chopped pecan nuts. Spoon the mixture into a greased 23cm ring pan or two loaf tins (22 x 12cm) and bake in a pre-heated oven at 160°C for 50 – 60 minutes.

For the icing, cream the butter and cream cheese (this is easier if you’ve left them out to soften while making the cake). Add the vanilla and zest, then mix in the icing sugar to make a thick, fluffy icing. Spread over the cooled cake.