The inspiration for this recipe comes from The Cranks Recipe Book. Cranks used to be a London institution, making delicious and nutritious vegetarian food and this book was my mum’s bible when we were growing up. Most of the recipes were too healthy and wholemeal for my liking when I was little but I have always loved this carrot cake. It is moist, with a lovely texture and hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. The icing is to die for. This recipe also works well for cupcakes, especially if you’re in a hurry to get to work in the morning as they only take about ten minutes to cook, although it is important to let the cake(s) cool completely before icing.

175 grams carrots, grated finely
2 free range eggs
100 grams raw sugar
75 mils oil
150 grams self raising wholemeal flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
50 grams desiccated coconut
optional: walnuts and/or raisins

for the icing
3 cups icing sugar
½ block cream cheese
juice and zest of ½ orange

Whisk the eggs and sugar until thick and glossy. Gradually add the oil, then the remaining ingredients and mix together to make a thick carroty batter. Pour into a greased and lined square cake tin (approx 22cm) and spread evenly. Cook at 180ºC.

To make the icing, sift icing sugar into a bowl, add cream cheese, orange zest and a little of the juice and mix together. Gradually add more juice until you have a thick dropping consistency (the trick is to get it thin enough to spread on the cake, but thick enough not to drip off the cake.