Celebratory Carrot cake

I still can’t quite believe that I have been married for 11 years and that I have been together with Mr. Scott for 16 years. To add to the equation, I celebrated my 40th birthday in April. I also began blogging aroung that time and it was probably because I felt that it was about time I did something for me after several years of being a full time mum.

I try very hard not to dwell on the ageing thing, but there is definitely a sense of now or never as far as taking the opportunity to both write and figure out new technology in order to improve my skills and sharpen my mind after so many years of blurred, sleep deprived inertia!

So, what to do for an eleven year celebratory meal? The trouble with living in the suburbs after growing up in London is that I naturally want to go back in to town. Should I try to seek something out locally instead and give in to this Surrey living? Well, the only place I really wanted to go to was a Korean place, Su La, in New Malden but that is a pain to get to without the car and lots of wine was going to be imibed. So we went to Brasserie Vacherin instead.

Before the meal, I just had to make a cake, because I usually do, just to show how much I care. Actions speak louder than words for me. Cooking, I suppose, is how I express my feelings. It is what I do and what I have always done and is second nature to me.

The recipe for this cake is adapted from “Frame by Frame baking”, one of Marks & Spencer’s own brand cook books, which has brilliant step by step picture guides taking you through each individual process of the recipe.

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Celebratory carrot cake

A juicy sponge packed full of spices and carrots with a creamy, rich icing

Course Cakes, Tea Time

Cuisine British

Keyword Celebratory carrot cake

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 12

Author Laura Scott

Ingredients

• 175 g light olive oil
• 175 g light brown sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• 175 g carrots grated
• 80 g sultanas
• 60 g walnuts/pecans chopped
• 175 g self raising flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1 orange zest & juice

For the icing:)

• 200 g full fat cream cheese
• 100 g icing sugar

Instructions

1. Pre heat your oven to 180 degrees
2. Grease and line a 9 inch square baking tin with baking parchment

3. Beat together  - in a bowl with an electric whisk or a food processor - the eggs, sugar and oil

4. Add the grated carrots, sultanas nuts and orange zest
5. Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon and mixed spice
6. Pour the cake mix into the baking tin and bake for about 40 minutes or until a skewer pressed down into the cake comes out clean
7. Let the cake cool completely
8. For the frosting simply mix together the cream cheese with the icing sugar in a bowl and then spread over the cold cake