Ingredients

Cake:

  • 2 cups self-raising flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 ¼ cups canola oil
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3 cups grated peeled carrots (5 to 6 medium carrots)
  • 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup raisins

Frosting:

  • 225 grams cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 1 ¼ cups icing sugar
  • 1/3 cup thickened cream
  • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans, for topping cake

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 180 C.
  2. Grease two 23cm round cake pans and line the bottom with baking paper. Lightly grease the top of the paper.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, salt, and the cinnamon until well blended.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk the oil, sugars, and vanilla. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, until combined.
  5. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, gently stirring until they disappear, and the batter is smooth. Stir in the carrots, nuts, and raisins.
  6. Divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans.
  7. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the tops of the cake layers are springy when touched and when a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
  8. Cool cakes in pans for 15 minutes then turn out onto cooling racks.
  9. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese with a handheld mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Beat in the icing sugar, a 1/4 cup at a time until fluffy. Pour in cream and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Chill covered until ready to frost the cake.
  10. When the cake layers are completely cool, frost the top of one cake layer, place the other cake layer on top. Decoratively swirl the top of the cake with remaining frosting, leaving the sides unfrosted. Scatter nuts on top.