Hummingbird Bakery Carrot Cake

Now thats what I call a cake. Three layers of moist and light loveliness. I substituted the walnuts for sultanas and made a buttercream icing with butter, icing sugar and a little squeezed lemon juice. We couldn't wait for the cake to cool thoroughly before icing it, so it was still warm when we ate it. I don't think it will last very long, although a little slice was plenty.

Ingredients
you will need 3, 20cm cake tins, lined with greaseproof paper
300g Soft Light Brown Sugar

3 Eggs

300ml Sunflower Oil
300g Plain Flour
1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon, plus extra to decorate
½ tsp Ground Ginger
½ tsp Salt
¼ tsp Vanilla Extract
300g Carrots, grated
100g Shelled Walnuts/ Pecans, chopped, plus extra, chopped and whole, to decorate

Method
Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F) Gas 3.
Put the sugar, eggs and oil in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat until all the ingredients are well incorporated. Slowly add the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt and vanilla extract and continue to beat until well mixed.

Stir in the grated carrots and walnuts with a spoon, then pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin. Bake in the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes, or until golden brown and the sponge bounces back when touched. Leave the cakes to cool slightly in the tins before turning out onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
When the cake is cold, spread over the cream cheese icing.
Finish with chopped walnuts and a light sprinkling of cinnamon.

Cream cheese frosting
Ingredients:
300g icing sugar, sifted
50g unsalted butter, at room temperature
125g cream cheese, cold

Method
Beat the icing sugar and butter together in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) on medium-slow speed until the mixture comes together and is well mixed.