Recipe: Carrot cake

Recipe courtesy of Cook Vegetarian.
Serves: 10
Cooking time: 60+ mins

Ingredients
For the cake:
2 free-range eggs, separated
225g light muscovado sugar
175g butter or margarine, melted
150g wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp mixed spice
25g chopped walnuts
25g sultanas
175g carrots, finely grated

For the topping:
200g Philadelphia
50g icing sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Grease and line the base of a 20cm springform cake tin.

Cream together the egg yolks, sugar and melted butter or margarine. Stir in 2 tbsp warm water. Place the remaining cake ingredients in a bowl, make a well in the centre, add the egg mixture and beat thoroughly.

Whisk the egg whites in a bowl until they stand in soft peaks. Fold carefully into the cake mixture. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly, then turn out and cool completely on a wire rack.

Cream together the Philadelphia and icing sugar until soft and creamy. Stir in most of the lemon zest and spread over the cake. Decorate with a little more grated lemon zest if required.