Carrot Cake

The mild and distinct flavour of a carrot cake has such a timeless feel to it, it seems as though it should have been around forever. In fact, it kinda has. The idea combining the natural sweetness of carrots with spices into a baked treat goes back to medieval times, however it's unclear whose genius idea it was to top it off with an irresistable, velvety cream cheese frosting. And the need to put little carrots on the top of the frosting to remind us we're going to be eating vegetables? Also unclear.

This is one of those bakes where you're going to go all-in on your hero ingredient, so don't hold back on your carrots. Grate them fresh if you can, and keep your strands short by holding your carrot 90 degrees against the grater. If you grate on an angle, you'll get long strands that won't blend as effectively through the batter.

Another one of the key components of a super-flavourful carrot cake is your spice mix. The ground cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves all complement the depth of flavour provided by the brown sugar and nuts, but without overpowering the carrot. Speaking of sugar, this has a caster/brown blend, as the brown sugar will help maintain moisture in your cake. So to will the additional of the oil - anything neutral-flavoured you have on hand should do the trick.

One of the best parts of a carrot cake is the super moist crumb. When you're mixing the batter, try to make sure you do it with a light touch. You'll want to keep as much air in there as you can, so ease up on the beating once the ingredients are just combined. The further you go, the drier your cake will be.