A favourite by Annabel Langbein

Ingredients:

• 1 cup neutral oil, ie. canola or grapeseed
• 2 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup wholemeal flour
• 1 cup plain / all-purpose flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 3 cups grated carrot (about 3 medium carrots)
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tbsp orange juice

Cream Cheese Icing
Note: I use this quantity of icing when I divide the above batter into 2 cakes. To make one cake, I would half the icing quantities.

• 75g butter, at room temperature
• 250g cream cheese (not the spreadable kind)
• finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 4 cups icing / confectioner’s sugar
• shredded zest of 1 orange

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 160ºC. Grease a 25cm-diameter loose-bottomed cake tin and line the base with baking paper (alternatively you can make 2 cakes – see note re: icing above).
2. Beat oil, sugar and eggs in a food processor/mixer to combine. Add both flours, salt, cinnamon, mixed spice, ginger and grated carrot and pulse again to just combine – don’t over-mix.
3. Dissolve baking soda in orange juice and pulse into cake mixture.
4. Spread into prepared tin(s) and bake until the top bounces back when pressed and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean (55–60 minutes).
5. Allow to cool before icing with Cream Cheese Icing.
6. To make the Cream Cheese Icing, place softened butter, cream cheese, lemon zest and juice and icing / confectioner’s sugar in a food processor. Blend until smooth then spread over top and sides of cake. Garnish with orange zest.