Carrot cake

A yummy carrot cake to shake off the January blues...

Ingredients

8 oz butter

8 oz caster sugar

6 oz self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp ground allspice

4 eggs

Grated rind of 1 orange

Juice of half an orange

3 oz ground almonds

2 oz ground walnuts
12 oz carrots, peeled and coarsely grated

2 oz walnuts, chopped

2 oz sultanas

For the icing

9 oz mascarpone

Juice of half an orange

3 tbsp icing sugar

Method

1. Grease and line two 7 inch round cake tins.  Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder and allspice together over the mixture.  
4. Add the eggs, orange rind and juice, ground almonds and ground walnuts and beat well.
5. Add the carrot, chopped nuts and sultanas and fold together with a metal spoon.
6. Pour the mixture into the cake tins, level the surface and bake for 35-40 minutes until firm to the touch and a cake tester comes out clean.  (If the cakes begin to look like the tops may burn, cover with foil.)  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
7. For the icing, beat the mascarpone, orange juice and icing sugar together until smooth.
8. Once the cakes are cool, spread half the icing over one, sandwich the other cake on top and spread with the remaining icing.  Sprinkle with candied orange peel to decorate.