I hope you have had a lovely week, ours has been a very busy and productive week and w are looking forward to the weekend.Carrots and Easter seem like a great match as we associate bunnies with Easter and they eat carrots.I used to think that  my carrot cake recipe was the best until I discovered Clare Ptak's recipe which takes carrot cake to the next level. It has a lovely light feel to it and this is thanks to the use of egg whites which are whipped to a meringue consistency and then folded with the rest of the ingredients.
Clare Ptak's Carrot Cake/ Cupcakes
Makes one double-layer 23cm cake, serving 12, or 24 cupcakesFor the spongecarrots 250g, gratedunsweetened desiccated coconut 100gpecans 100g, lightly toasted and chopped finevegetable oil 400gvanilla extract 1½ tspcaster sugar 400geggs 2egg yolks 2, plus 4 egg whitesplain flour 320gbaking powder 1 tspbicarbonate of soda 1 tspground cinnamon 2 tspsalt ½ tsp For the cream cheese icing/fillingunsalted butter 200g, softenedcream cheese 250gicing sugar 750g, siftedvanilla extract ½ tspPreheat your oven to 150C fan/gas mark 3. Butter 2 x 23cm cake tins and line with parchment paper, or line 2 x 12-cup muffin trays with paper cases.In a large mixing bowl, combine the carrots, coconut and pecans and set aside.In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the vegetable oil, vanilla, 200g of the caster sugar, the 2 whole eggs and the egg yolks until foamy. Add this to the carrot mixture and fold together well. Wash and...