For the cake

1 medium orange
140g/5oz raisins
125ml/4floz of Just Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil
230g/ 8oz of self-raising wholemeal flour
1 tsp baking powder (plus a pinch to add to the egg white)
1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
1 rounded tsp of cinnamon
2 eggs
140g/5oz of dark muscovado sugar
280g/10oz finely grated carrot (about 375g/13oz carrots before peeling)

Method

  1. Heat oven to 160C/Fan 140C/Gas 3. Finely grate the zest from the orange and squeeze the juice. Put the raisins in a small bowl; pour over the juice of the orange and stir in the zest. Leave to soak while you make the cake.
  2. Lightly grease and line a 20cm square cake tin. Mix the flour with the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon.
  3. Separate one of the eggs. Put the white in a small bowl. Put the yolk in a large bowl with the remaining whole egg and then tip in the sugar. Whisk together for a couple of minutes until thick and foamy. Slowly pour in the oil and continue to mix on a low speed until incorporated.
  4. Tip half of the flour mixture into the egg and oil and gently stir in with a spatula or large spoon. Add the other half of the flour; the mixture will be very stiff.
  5. Put the extra pinch of baking powder into the remaining egg white and whisk to soft peaks.
  6. Fold the grated carrot and orange soaked raisin mixture into the flour mixture.
  7. Gently fold in the whisked egg white and then pour into the tin and level out.
  8. Bake for 1 hour until risen and firm or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
  9. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack; peel off the paper and leave to go cold.

The cake is moist but is even better if left well-wrapped in a tin for 2 days before icing or eating. It will keep for 5 days un-iced in an airtight tin or in the fridge if iced. Un-iced it freezes beautifully.

For the low fat frosting

100g/4oz of light soft cheese straight from the fridge
100g/4oz Quark
3 tablespoons of sifted icing sugar
The zest from one orange finely grated – finely chop one teaspoon of this
1.5 tsps of lemon juice

Method

  1. Carefully stir together the soft cheese, Quark, icing sugar and tsp of finely chopped orange zest. DO NOT OVER BEAT.
  2. Stir in the lemon juice.
  3. Swirl the frosting over the cake and decorate with the remaining finely grated orange zest.

Full Fat Frosting (for when you are feeling naughty)

If you are not watching your weight or cannot find Quark in your local supermarket, you can replace the light soft cheese with full fat cheese and the Quark with softened butter. If not using Quark, you must use full fat soft cheese.

We also sometimes make twice the icing, slice the cake in half and sandwich together with the frosting in addition to frosting the top of the cake.

Orange frosting
50g/2oz of butter
2 x 15ml (tbsps.) Orange juice
Finely chopped zest from one orange
225g/8oz icing sugar

Method

  1. Melt the butter, orange juice and rind in a saucepan.
  2. Beat in the icing sugar until smooth.
  3. Swirl over the cake and cut into 12 squares.