Baking Carrot Cake

Last Monday it was my birthday. I am not going to tell you how old I was but I can definitely say I am another year older. One thing you have got to have on your birthday is cake. I was a little unorganised on the runup to my birthday and did not get around to baking, much to my son’s disappointment. He told me I always baked at the weekend and I must be a terrible mother because I hadn’t done so. On Friday I had the day off work so I decided to make up for it. My son and I decided we were going to make a carrot cake. It is one cake that everyone in the family likes, but not one I made before.
My son didn’t believe me when I told him that to make a carrot cake you need carrots. I think he thought it was called that because most of the carrot cakes in shops have little carrots made of icing on the top. I set him to work helping me make the cake, he did most of the mixing and helped me to grate the carrots. I have to say the finished result was delicious and did not last that long.
Carrot Cake Recipe

Ingredients

For the cake

• 150ml (¼ pint) sunflower oil
• 3 eggs
• 175g (6 oz) light soft brown sugar
• 175g( 6 oz) self raising flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder
• grated rind of ½ orange
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 150g (5oz) grated carrots
• 50g (2oz) chopped walnuts

For the frosting

• 200g cream cheese
• 50g butter
• 85g icing sugar
• pinch ground cinnamon

Method

1. Preheat an oven to 180C, 350F, Gas Mark 4.
2. Grease two 8 inch (20cm) sandwich tins and line with baking parchment.
3. Mix together the oil, eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl until smooth.
4. Add the flour, baking powder, orange rind and ground cinnamon and mix.
5. Add the carrots and walnuts and mix again.
6. Divide the mixture between the two cake tins and bake for twenty minutes until the top springs back when it is pressed.
7. :Leave to cool for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
8. When cooled make the frosting by mixing the cream cheese, butter, icing sugar and cinnamon until smooth.
9. Sandwich the cake together using the frosting and use the rest to cover the top.

My son then got busy decorating and covered the top with sugar butterflies and stars. The end result was quite pretty.