Carrot Cake - cooking recipe

Ingredients

150 g + 2 carrots, peeled and finely grated (the 2 cut into long strips with a peeler)
1 None apple, peeled, cored and finely grated
2 tbsp lemon juice
200 g butter or margarine
450 g caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
3 None eggs
225 g plain flour
50 g ground almonds
2 heaped tsp baking powder
600 g cream cheese
7 tbsp double cream
150 g icing sugar

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350\u00b0F. Grease an 8 inch springform pan. Drizzle the grated apple with lemon juice and mix with the grated carrots.
Cream the butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, vanilla extract and 1 pinch of salt for 5 mins. Stir in the eggs, one by one. Mix the flour, ground almonds and baking powder then fold into the batter. Stir in the grated apple and carrots. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top and bake for around 1 hour, covering with foil for the last 15 mins. Remove the cake from the oven, place on a cooling rack and leave to cool in the pan.
For the frosting, beat the cream cheese and cream until smooth then add the powdered sugar. Remove the cake from the pan and cut it in half horizontally. Spread 1/2 the frosting on the bottom layer then gently press down the top 1/2 of cake. Spread the rest of the frosting on the cake and chill.
To decorate, heat 1 cup water in a saucepan with the remaining granulated sugar, bring to a boil and add the carrot strips. Simmer for 2-3 mins then remove and drain on paper towels and let cool. Decorate the cake with the carrot strips placed on the cake 2 at a time, in a radiating pattern from the center down to the bottom edge. Trim off any excess carrot at the bottom. Roll up any extra carrot and place in the center.