The World’s Most Scrumptious, Decadent, ‘Forget-all-your-worries,’ Sinfully Naughty Carrot Cake

This is my fail-proof, up until now top-secret, Carrot Cake recipe. It has saved many a birthday from being ruined by cheap, shop bought gunk.  I will not lie to you, it is the best carrot cake around. I have yet to encounter a non-lover. The ingredient list is long and a bit pricey, but is truly worth the expense and effort. This cake will not only make you forget about terrible things like war and mortgages, but will also contribute to your recommended 5-a-day (enough reason to eat it).

Makes one very big, or two smaller cakes.

The all-important, top secret ingredients list:

For the cake:

1 cup of raisins

6 cups of carrots, grated

1 cup of brown sugar

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup of vegetable oil

2 tsps of vanilla essence (1 tsp of extract)

1 can of tinned pineapple chunks, crushed with a fork

3 cups of flour

2 tsps of baking powder

1 1/2 tsps of baking soda (bicarb)

1 tsp of salt

3 tsps of ground cinnamon

1 tsp of ground cardamom (the secret spice)

1/2 cups of walnuts, roughly chopped

For the Icing:

1 package of Philly cream cheese

1/4 cup of butter, softened

3 cups of icing sugar (powdered)

1 Tbsp of lemon juice

1/2 cup of walnuts, for decorating

Method:

For the cake:

1. Combine the raisins, carrots, and brown sugar in a bowl, and set aside for half an hour.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius, and grease a large, ring shaped cake tin (or 2 smaller tins).
3. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and cardamom.
4. Mix the eggs, oil, vanilla, and crushed pineapple, and add to the dry ingredients, stirring with a wooden spoon to combine.
5. Add the carrot mixture, together with any juices, and mix well.
6. Fold in the chopped walnuts.
7. Plop the batter into the prepared tin(s), and bake for approximately 1 hour, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. You will know the cake is almost done when your kitchen is filled with a heavenly, trance inducing aroma.
8. Allow to cool slightly before removing from the tin, and then completely before cutting in half horizontally and attempting to ice, or the icing will melt and you have a very sticky mess on your hands.

For the Icing:

1. Using an electric egg beater, cream together the Philly and butter.
2. Gradually beat in the icing sugar, a spoonful at a time, until smooth and luscious.
3. Beat in the lemon juice.
4. Use half to sandwich the two halves of the cake together, and the remaining half to smear unashamedly over the rest of the cake.
5. Scatter with walnuts.
6. Make a mental note of how long it takes for the cake to disappear from the fridge, which is where I keep it.