Happy birthday to me

I only have my mother (and my dad) to thank for on this today. Thank you for bringing me to this world. I feel very lucky to be your child.

Venetian Carrot Cake by Nigella Lawson

3 tbsp pine nuts (I used pecan nuts)

2 medium carrots (approx. 200-250g)

75g golden sultanas (I used raisins)

60ml rum

150g caster sugar (I used 100g)

125ml regular olive oil (I used 100ml)

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs

250g ground almonds

½ tsp ground nutmeg, or to taste

½ lemon, finely grated zest and juice

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4. Line the base and the sides of a 23cm/9in round springform cake tin with re-usable non-stick silicone liner.

Grate the carrots in a processor or with a coarse grater, then sit them on a double layer of kitchen paper and wrap them, to soak up excess liquid. Set aside.

Put the raisins in a small saucepan with the rum, bring to the boil, then turn down and simmer for 3 minutes.

Whisk the sugar and oil until creamily and airily mixed. Whisk in the vanilla extract and eggs and, when well whisked, fold in the ground almonds, nutmeg, grated carrots, rum-soaked raisins* (with any rum that clings to them) and, finally, the lemon zest and juice.

Scrape the mixture into the prepared cake tin and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula. The batter will be very shallow in the tin.

Arrange the pecan nuts over the cake in a pretty fashion and put it into the oven for 30–40 minutes, or until the top is risen and golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out sticky but more or less clean.

Remove from the oven and let the cake sit in its tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then unspring and leave it on the rack to cool.

I mixed some lemon curd with Greek yogurt to ice my cake. However, I have to admit that nothing beats Mascarpone laced with a dash with rum. Will try that next time!

*I accidentally added all raisins and the excess rum which was not absorbed by the raisins. The cake still turned out all right.