This is a classic foolproof cake that is at once delicious and nutrition.
If you are looking for a birthday cake that is different from those commercially available, try this cake would bring extra sparkle to the birthday child's eye! For an 18cm cake and a smaller top tier, just make 1½ times this recipe.
Ingredients: 150g margarine 200g plain flour 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda ½ teaspoon mixed spice Pinch of salt 1 cup grated raw carrot ½ cut chopped canned pineapple 4 eggs 230g brown sugar 200g ground almonds Method:

• Melt margarine in a pan over gentle heat.
  Leave to cool.
  
• Sieve flour, bicarbonate of soda, mixed spice and salt together twice.
  
• Squeeze out half the juice from the carrot and pineapple.
  
• Beat eggs and sugar in a cake mixer till light and thick.
  
• Fold in almonds, carrot, flour mixture, pineapple and melted margarine.
  
• Pour batter into a greased and paper-lined tin.
  Bake at 160c for 45 minutes or till a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
  
• Leave cake in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool.
  
• Ice with cream cheese frosting if desired.
  

Cream cheese frosting ingredients: 125g cream cheese 60g butter 250g icing sugar Method:

• In a cake mixer, whip cream cheese with butter.
  Add icing sugar gradually, beating well between each addition.
  
• Spread on the carrot cake.
  
• Allow the icing to become firm before cutting the cake.
  

Note: The cake can be baked a day in advance and the icing spread on after the cake has cooled.