Homestyle Carrot Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Moist, spicy and tangy... It's like a party in your mouth!

This is a long-time favourite from way back when. The secret to making this cake go from good to OMFG is using freshly grated whole nutmeg. The aroma is so heady that it makes you want to plunge headfirst into the batter.

The second secret is using good cream cheese for the frosting. Resist the urge to get a huge block of generica on the cheap. Use original philly and you'll taste the difference.

Finally, don't be shy about the frosting. Slap it on thick and good. But if you don't want frosting, the carrot cake is good on its own too.

Makes an 1-inch/ 20cm cake:

For the cake:

• 1 ²∕₃ cups sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 ¼ cups flour
• 2 ¼ tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• ½ tsp allspice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 3 (60g) eggs
• ²∕₃ cup vegetable oil
• 1 ½ cup grated/chopped carrot
• ½ cup roughly chopped walnuts or pecans

For the frosting:

• 500g cream cheese, softened
• 170g unsalted butter, softened
• 1 ½ cups icing sugar, sifted
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 lemon, grated zest and juice

Preheat oven to 175C. Grease 2 springform round tins and line bottom with parchment paper.

Sift together  flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, salt and baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.

For easy wash-up, chop carrot in food processor. When fine, chuck in nuts and pulse till roughly chopped.

Whip eggs and sugar until thick to till light yellow and runs off your beater like a fat ol' ribbon. Gradually add oil until evenly blended.

Fold in sifted flour mixture gently. Add grated carrots and nuts until well mixed.

Divide the batter between the 2 cake tins and bake for about 45-50 minutes. You'll know it's done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool completely before you start frosting.

On to the frosting:

Blend cream cheese till nice and smooth. Add cubes of butter, blending well in between.

Sift in icing sugar and blend till fully incorporated.

Finally, mix in vanilla, lemon juice and zest. You should get a smooth creamy icing with no lumps. Cover with cling wrap and chill for an hour to let it firm up a bit.

To assemble the cake, spread a layer of icing between the two cake layers and frost all over. Chill for 2 hours in the fridge so the icing sets firm.

For a step-by-step picture guide on cake frosting, click here.

If you can resist, eat it the next day. This cake just seems to taste better when left overnight. It also keeps well. Up to 4-5 days if whole. However, if you've already sliced it, make sure you cover it so that it doesn't dry out in the fridge.