You can't beat a classic carrot cake and this version with raisins, cream cheese and sugarpaste carrots is bound to be a winner.
Ingredients
Forthe cake:
- 200g (7oz) self-raising flour
- 175g (6oz) soft light brown sugar
- 150g (5oz) raisins
- 2 level tsp ground mixed spice
- Pinch of salt
- 150ml (¼ pint) sunflower oil
- 3 medium eggs 2
- 50g (2oz) carrots, peeled and grated
For the topping:
- 200g carton cream cheese
- 3 level tbsp icing sugar
- Zest of 1 lemon
- Sugarpaste or marzipan carrots, for decoration, optional (see Sue's tip, right)
- 1kg (2lb) loaf tin, buttered and lined with a strip of baking parchment
WEIGHT CONVERTER
Method
- Set the oven to gas mark 4 or 180°C.
- To make the cake: Tip the flour into a bowl and stir in the sugar, raisins, mixed spice and salt.
- Beat the sunflower oil and eggs together and add to the dry ingredients and carrots, then stir until well mixed. Pour the mixture into the loaf tin.
- Bake the cake in the centre of the oven for about 1 hr, until it is just firm to the touch in the centre, and a skewer comes out clean after being inserted into the cake.
- Remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool in the tin for about 10 mins. Turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the topping: Beat together the cream cheese, icing sugar and lemon zest. Spread the icing over the top of the cake and decorate with the sweet 'carrots', if liked.
Top Tip for making Carrot and raisin loaf
Woman's Weekly cookery editor Sue McMahon says some specialist shops sell carrot decorations ready-made, but the ones in this photo were made from sugarpaste, which had been coloured using paste colourings
Trusted, informative, and empathetic – GoodToKnow is the ultimate online destination for mums. Established in 2007, our 15-year-strong archive of content includes more than 18,000 articles, 1,500 how-to videos, and 7,000 recipes.
-
Sumac roasted fennel and carrots recipe
Roasted carrots go well with fennel, which sweetens up as it cooks.
By Samuel Goldsmith Published
-
Cherry and coconut loaf
Cherry and coconut loaf is an easy-to-make cake that blends the sweet taste of cherries with the exotic flavour of coconut. Put your feet up and enjoy.
By Jessica Dady Published
-
Orange polenta and olive oil cake
This orange polenta and olive oil cake has just a handful of ingredients and will taste even better if you can bake it a couple of days ahead.
By Rose Fooks Published
-
Feta and spinach stuffed chicken
This feta and spinach stuffed chicken is cooked in 25 minutes and only has four steps in the method
By Jessica Ransom Published
-
Sweet potato and courgette fish cakes
These sweet potato and courgette fish cakes take 30 minutes to make and can be served with chips, salad, or steamed veg on the side...
By Rose Fooks Published
-
Chicken and spinach lasagne
This chicken and spinach lasagne is a great new take on the family favourite and it’s easy to prepare during the day to cook come dinner time...
By Jessica Ransom Published
-
Quick! Tesco's FREE carrots for Rudolph are back while stocks last
Don’t forget to leave a carrot out for Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen and Rudolph this Christmas Eve…
By Jessica Dady Published
-
You probably already have the ingredients to make a lava cake in your air fryer - here's how to whip up this easy dessert
You could have yourself a delicious homemade dessert in just 10 minutes with this air fryer lava cake hack.
By Ellie Hutchings Published
-
4 ingredients and 15 minutes to make this classic British dessert in your air fryer
You can make bread and butter pudding in an air fryer using just four basic store cupboard ingredients, thanks to one TikTok influencer's recipe.
By Ellie Hutchings Published