The Best Ever Carrot Cake Recipe

I make this claim based on everyone I have ever made it for (and that is a lot!) stating this to me and immediately requesting the recipe.

The recipe came from some weird collection of pamplets I found in mum's unwanted recipe book stash. She had never made it but now she regularly make it.

I love it so much - it doesn't look the best in this picture but the taste is fabulous. It is not too wholesome tasting, it's lovely and moist and easy to make. I have the recipe committed to memory. I have photographed it here as a double layer but I regularly make two single layer/tray bake type of cakes instead as I do like a decent icing to cake ratio (I know that defies the point of making a 'healthy' cake!)

• 225g self raising flour
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1.5 tsp bicarb
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 0.5tsp salt

(Mix all above in one bowl - I don't bother sifting but do so if you like)

• 3 eggs
• 175g sugar (I use 100g dark brown sugar, 75g of light brown or caster sugar)
• 150ml veg oil (or other tasteless oil)

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, the whisk in the sugar then slowly whisk in the oil.

• 200g grated carrot
• 50g raisins or sultanas (you could also add 50g nuts but I don't like it personally)

Into the liquid bowl alternate adding carrot then flour, carrot then flour until all incorporated. Then add the raisins. It'll look like this;

Cook in 2 lined loose bottomed 20cm cake tins in a preheated oven (150*c) for 35mins or until skewer comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack and then ice,

Icing

• 50g melted butter cooled a bit
• 100g cream cheese (really only philly will do!)
• 250g icing sugar
• 1tsp lemon juice
• 2 tsp vanilla extract (or 1 vanilla bean's worth of seeds if you feel extravagant)

Mix together and refrigerate for a while. Also it really helps if you sieve the icing sugar.