Angelique's best carrot cake in Australia

This cake won the Australia best carrot cake, by Angellique Lazarus from Sydney "This cake really fitted the bill,'' said Allan Campion. ''It is something you might throw into a bowl in the home kitchen with a quick stir and put it in the oven. It is homely, honest and easily done.''

Judges: 

Allan Campion, chef, author and tour guide; 

Matt Dawson, chef at Captain Baxter; 

Suzanne Farrell, of Fringe Food Festival; 

Phillippa Grogan, of Phillippa's Bakery, Melbourne; 

Neil Hargreaves, of group n.b.; 

Michael James, of Tivoli Bakery, Melbourne; 

Leon Mugavin, owner of Leaf Store, Elwood.

Ingredients

CAKE

375g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp bicarb soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp ground nutmeg

½ tsp allspice

2 tsp salt

345g castor sugar

375ml vegetable oil

4 eggs

3 medium carrots, grated

220g tin crushed pineapple, drained

200g pecans, chopped

GLAZE

2 tbsp vegetable oil

110g brown sugar

2 tbsp milk

40g pecans, chopped

ICING

250g cream cheese, room temperature, cut into cubes

125g unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into cubes

500g icing sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Methods

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan). Grease a 23cm round cake tin and line with baking paper.

2. Sift the dry ingredients together into a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and oil, then add to the dry ingredients. Mix well then add the carrots, crushed pineapple and pecans. Mix to form a smooth batter and pour into the cake tin.

3. Bake for 30 minutes then quickly prepare the glaze by placing all the ingredients for it in a small saucepan and heating over medium heat, stirring, until all the ingredients are combined.

4. Pull the cake out on the oven rack and carefully pour the glaze over the cake.

5. Bake for the rest of the baking time, roughly 40 minutes or until a bamboo skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin on a wire rack. The glaze will have melted onto the tin, so take a butter knife or metal spatula and run it carefully around the inside of the tin. Upend and allow to cool on the wire rack.

6. Prepare the frosting by whipping the cream cheese, butter, icing sugar and vanilla essence together in a bowl. Put the cake, bottom side down, on a serving plate and cover the top of the cake with frosting. Allow to set for several hours before serving.