Cream cheese topped carrot cake

Method
Prep:20min  ›  Cook:30min  ›  Extra time:1hr cooling  ›  Ready in:1hr50min 

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C / 160 C fan / Gas 4.
2. Grease and line two 23cm shallow round cake tins.
3. Mix the flour, cinnamon and sugar together. Add the vegetable oil and mix in thoroughly.
4. Add the eggs one at a time until well blended. Then with a wooden spoon mix in the carrots and walnut pieces.
5. Divide the mixture between the two tins, giving them a little tap on the counter to level them out
6. Bake both tins in the middle of the oven until the cakes have risen and the tester is clean, around 25 to 35 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 10 minutes before taking the cakes out of their tins.
8. Leave the cakes to rest until they are both completely cool to touch, about 1 hour.
9. Meanwhile make the cream cheese topping by sieving the icing sugar into a bowl and combining with the butter and vanilla.
10. Add the cream cheese and mix again until smooth and silky.
11. Level off the cakes with a knife and spread a thick layer of the cream cheese over the bottom cake.
12. Place the other cake on top and spread another layer of cream cheese on top.
13. If, like me, you like cream cheese buttercream around the sides of the cake then do so but it isn't really that necessary.
14. Decorate with walnut halves.