Poppy's carrot cake

Here Poppy Marshall, trainee project manager, shares her delicious take on the much loved carrot cake.

Love Poppy's carrot cake? Why not visit her new Instagram account to view more of the recipes she's been creating since lockdown began - apparently the mango chicken is 'insane'. It's certainly one we'll be trying!

Ingredients - CAKE

175g light muscovado sugar
175ml sunflower oil
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
140g grated carrot (about 3 medium)
100g raisins
grated zest of 1 large orange
175g self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp grated nutmeg (freshly grated will give you the best flavour)

Ingredients - FROSTING

115g unsalted butter room temperature
250 g of Philadelphia cream cheese room temperature
360g of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

DECORATION

Pack of fresh strawberries
Goji berries
Organic pumpkin seeds

Method - CAKE

Heat the oven to 180C
Oil and line the base and sides of an 18cm round cake tin with baking parchment
Tip 175g light muscovado sugar, 175ml sunflower oil and 3 large beaten eggs into a big mixing bowl. Lightly mix with a wooden spoon. Stir in 140g grated carrots, 100g raisins and grated zest of 1 large orange.
Sift 175g self-raising flour, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 1 tsp ground cinnamon and ½ tsp grated nutmeg 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 mins or until it feels firm and springy when you press it in the centre.
Cool in the tin for 5 mins, then turn it out, peel off the paper and cool on a wire rack.

Method - FROSTING

Beat the cream cheese and butter together: Using an electric mixer or your super strength, beat the cream cheese and butter together until completely smooth, about 3 minutes on medium speed. Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl to ensure that the mixture is mixed evenly.
Beat in vanilla extract and powdered sugar: Beat in the vanilla extract. With the mixer running on low speed to start, slowly add in 2 cups of the powdered sugar.
Half the mixture, put half in the middle of the cake and half on top.

Decorate your cake with fresh fruit and ENJOY!