Nessa's Family Kitchen Best Ever Carrot Cake

 This is just the perfect recipe to try out with children and one which I made with many little hands at the cookery school. It is simply combining all the ingredients really well and pouring into a well greased tin. In this particular carrot cake recipe I don't add any fruit or nuts to the cake, as my boys prefer it without, however I have made this with added raisins and mixed nuts before and it also works well.

Tiarnán and Fionn inspecting the carrots they have picked for the carrot cake.

Ingredients:

For Cake-

Butter (for greasing)

125g (4 ½ oz) whole meal flour

125g (4 ½ oz) self-raising flour

2 teaspoons ground mixed spice

250g (9oz) light muscovado sugar

250g (9oz) Carrots (peeled & grated)

4 free range eggs

200mls (7 floz) sunflower oil

For Icing-

125g (4 ½ oz) cream cheese

25g (1 oz) butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

250g icing sugar (sieved)

20mls milk

walnuts (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C(fan)/390f/gas mark 6 Lightly grease a 20cm (8in) square cake tin and then carefully line the base with baking paper.

2. Sieve both types of flour into a bowl, adding any bran left in the sieve. Stir in the mixed spice, sugar and carrots until they are thoroughly combined.

3. Crack the eggs into a jug. Use a fork to lightly beat them together. Then pour the eggs into the bowl with the flour mixture.

4. Add the oil and then stir until all the ingredients are mixed together. Pour the mixture into the tin and smooth the top with the back of a spoon.

5. Bake the cake for 50-60 minutes until it is risen and golden. You may need to cover the top of the cake with tin foil for the last 20mins, if it has browned too quickly. Remove it from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning it out.

6. Carefully turn the cake out on to a cooling rack.

7. Put the cream cheese and icing sugar into a bowl and beat together until smooth and creamy. Stir in the vanilla extract. Put the icing in the fridge for 15 minutes to harden slightly. When the cake has completely cooled spread the icing over the cake and smooth using a palette knife.

8. If desired sprinkle with some chopped walnuts.

Fionn stirring as fast as he can to combine all the ingredients.