10 miles speed training on Carrot Cake

I was not hungry when I opened the cupboard at breakfast time this morning, so I ended up having a piece of toast and marmite - not really a good runner's breakfast, especially as the toast was white. I had planned to do my 10 miles, with 5 miles fast, over an extended lunchtime, so I had the most enormous piece of carrot cake at 11.30 when the hunger started to kick in.

I know everyone has their own special carrot cake recipe, but here is my one. It is really moist, not too sweet, keeps for ages, it is very filling and packed with goodness. In fact, it kept me going until about 4 in the afternoon. This sort of cake is pretty wholesome and full of slow-burning carbs - yes it has sugar and butter in it, but it also has carrots, dried fruits, nuts, wholemeal flour and oranges. Try to use some good locally grown organic carrots - the better the carrots are, the better the cake will be. Sorry, but the photos of this one didn't work out very well and now the cake has been scoffed! I'll have to make another so I can take a decent photo.

Go Faster Carrot Cake
Grease an 8 inch square tin, or 9 inch round tin (springform, or lined with greaseproof paper)
Pre-heat the oven to 170 C (fan), 180 C (conventional)

250g unsalted butter
375g sugar - half caster/half demerara
250g self-raising wholemeal flour, sifted
4 eggs
zest of 2 oranges
450g carrots, grated
100g walnuts, roughly chopped
150g mix of raisins and dried cranberries
juice of 1 orange
1 tsp bicoarbonate of soda
1 1/2 tsp mixed spice
1 tsp salt

Icing:
225g full-fat soft cheese
40g unsalted butter, at room temperature
80-100g icing sugar (depends on how sweet you like it)
squeeze of lemon or lime juice

1. Cream the butter and sugar and zest togetheruntil light and fluffy
2. Add the eggs, beating well as you add each one
3. Fold in the grated carrots and nuts
4. Add the orange juice
5. Fold in the flour, bicarbonate of soda, spice and salt
6. Pour into the cake tin and bake for about 1 1/4 hours. Baking time depends on the juicyness of the carrots, but you will know the cake is done as the cake comes away from the side of the cake tin and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean
7. Turn the cake out onto a wire rack to cool
8. Cream the cheese and butter together. Add the icing sugar and juice and beat until smooth. Spread the icing generously over the cake.
9. Decorate with whole or chopped walnuts.