Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 150°C (300°F) (without fan).
2. Grease and line a 13 cm x 23 cm loaf pan (5 x 9 inches).
3. In a large bowl, or the bowl of a KitchenAid, beat together the eggs, oil and sugar until it is pale and thick.
4. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, ground cinnamon, nutmeg and mixed spice.
5. Mix until well combined.
6. Stir through the carrots, raisins and nuts (if using).
7. The batter will be quite liquid but don’t worry about this.
8. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for about 1 to 1.25 hours, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
9. Leave the cake to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before removing it to a wire rack to cool completely.
10. To make the cream-cheese frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter together in a medium bowl. Add the vanilla extract, icing sugar and orange zest and mix to combine. The icing should be quite thick.
11. If necessary, you can place the frosting in the fridge for about 10 minutes to firm up.
12. Spread the frosting over the cooled cake and serve as is, or decorate with some marzipan carrots. You could also sprinkle over some chopped walnuts.