Carrot Cake

• 175g light brown sugar
• 175ml sunflower oil
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 140g grated carrot (about 3 medium)
• 100g walnuts, chopped
• grated zest of 1 large orange
• 175g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp grated nutmeg
• 85g soft cream cheese
• 1 tsp orange zest
• 2 tbsp fresh orange juice
• 300g icing sugar

Heat the oven to 180C/fan160C/gas 4. Oil and line the base and sides of an 18cm square cake tin with baking parchment.

Tip the sugar, oil and eggs into a large mixing bowl. Lightly mix with a wooden spoon. Stir in the grated carrots, raisins and orange rind.

Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices into the bowl. Mix everything together, the mixture will be soft and almost runny.

Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 40-45 minutes or until it feels firm and springy when you press it in the centre. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn it out, peel off the paper and cool on a wire rack. (You can freeze the cake at this point if you want to serve it at a later date.)

Beat the frosting ingredients in a small bowl until smooth and spread over the cooled cake