This is the best carrot cake recipe – taken from The Silver Palate cookbook.

Note on quantities: a full recipe will require a dish the size of a deep roasting pan (filled to ¾ quarters), and will make many servings. So unless you are having a party (10+) half the recipe is plenty.

In a very large bowl mix together the following dry ingredients: 3 cups flours, 3 cups sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbs baking soda, and 1 tbs cinnamon.

In another bowl mix together the following wet ingredients: 1 ½ cups rapeseed/canola oil, 4 eggs, beaten and 1 tbs vanilla.

Beat the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients bowl, mixing well.

In a separate bowl mix together 1 ½ cups chopped walnuts, 1 ½ cups shredded coconut, 1 ½ cups puréed cooked carrots, and ¾ cup drained crushed pineapple. 

Now combine the two mixtures together and pour the batter into your preferred baking tin (large enough to fill up to ¾) which has either been buttered or lined with baking parchment.

Bake for 30-45 minutes at 180 degrees celsius till a knife comes out clean. Let cool completed before icing.

Cream cheese icing:

Cream together 250g cream cheese and 90g butter, both at room temperature (this is important, otherwise your icing will be lumpy). Slowly mix in 3 cups icing sugar, sifted. Add the juice of half a lemon.

Once cooled, evenly cover the cake with the icing, sprinkle with additional shredded coconut (optional) and decorate with miniature carrots (made with dried apricots and mint leaves).