Classic Carrot Cake

Ingredients:

For the carrot cake:

450ml vegetable oil
400g plain flour
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
550g sugar
5 free-range eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
21/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
525g carrots, grated
150g shelled walnuts, chopped

For the icing:

200g cream cheese
150g caster sugar
100g butter, softened

Method:

1. For the carrot cake, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Grease and line a 26cm springform cake tin.

2. Mix all of the ingredients for the carrot cake – except the carrots and walnuts – together in a bowl until well combined. Stir in the carrots and walnuts.

3. Spoon the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 75 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and set aside to cool for 10 minutes, then carefully remove the cake from the tin and set aside to cool completely on a cooling rack.

4. Meanwhile, for the icing, beat the cream cheese, caster sugar and butter together in a bowl until fluffy. Spread the icing over the top of the cake with a palette knife.