Spiced carrot halwa cake

Method

1. Heat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/gas 3½. For the cake, put the oil, 225g soft light brown sugar and eggs in a large mixing bowl and whisk together. Add the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and crushed cardamom seeds to the bowl, then mix until smooth. Stir in the raisins, grated carrots and the chopped pistachios.
2. Spoon the cake batter into the prepared tin, then bake for 65 minutes or until golden and cooked through (a skewer pushed into the centre should come out clean). If the cake isn’t quite done, give it another 5-10 minutes in the oven, then take it out and leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
3. For the buttercream frosting, put the butter in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until pale and creamy. Beat in the 100g soft light brown sugar and the icing sugar until completely smooth, then beat in the cream cheese. There will be a slight grainy texture to the frosting, but don’t worry – as it rests the sugar will soften. Spoon the buttercream over the cooled loaf, then scatter over the 20g chopped pistachios. For special occasions you could decorate the top with a few shining flakes of gold leaf, if you want. Serve with Indian sweets and a pot of tea.