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I’m already missing the long weekend, what about you? It was glorious autumn weather and we truly had a lovely time with family and friends. I also now have enough chocolate to get me through winter (and my thesis writing)! 

In keeping with the Easter theme, I made a few batches of different carrot cake recipes for picnics during the long weekend. Here are the recipes from the top two favourites! I made a few in a cupcake variety, without the frosting - yummy to have as a sweet treat by the beach. It was nice to make cupcakes too for those people at uni who are not from Adelaide and may not know many people here.

Carrot and walnut cake

What you’ll need: 2 cups self-raising flour - 1 teaspoon mixed spice - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon - 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar - 2 cups grated carrot (about 2 large carrots) - 1 cup chopped walnuts - 1 cup vegetable oil - 3 eggs, lightly beaten For the cream cheese frosting: 125g softened cream cheese, 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind - 1 ½ cups icing mixture - extra walnuts to top

What to do: (1) Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a 6cm-deep, 19cm square cake pan. Line base and sides with baking paper. (2) Sift flour, spice and cinnamon into a bowl. Add sugar, carrot, chopped walnuts, oil and eggs. Stir to combine. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until a skewer inserted into centre comes out clean (cover loosely with foil if over-browning). Stand in the pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool. (3) Make frosting: Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and lemon rind until smooth. Gradually beat in sugar until smooth. Spread frosting over cake. Decorate with walnuts.

Vegan carrot cake

What you’ll need: 312g all-purpose flour - 220g brown sugar - 200g white sugar - 2 teaspoons baking powder - 1 teaspoon baking soda - 2 teaspoons cinnamon - ½ teaspoon ground ginger - ¼ teaspoon nutmeg - 1 teaspoon salt - 112g canola oil - 244g applesauce - 187g almond milk - 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract - grate 3 large carrots - 117g chopped walnuts (optional) For the vegan frosting: ½ cup vegan butter, softened, 226 vegan cream cheese, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 480g powdered sugar

What to do: (1) Preheat the oven to 176°C and prepare 2 round 8-inch cake pans by lining the bottom with parchment paper and spraying well with oil. (2) In a large bowl, add all the dry ingredients and whisk well. (3) Pour in the canola oil, applesauce, almond milk and vanilla and mix until combined with a large spoon. Now fold in the grated carrots and walnuts. (4) Pour the cake batter evenly between the prepared pans, then bake for 35-45 minutes. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool for about 20 minutes. (5) Make frosting: Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese ingredients until smooth. Gradually beat in sugar until smooth. Spread frosting over cake