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One fine Sunday after church, Sister and I were due to have lunch at Friends so we decided to drop by the famous Bourke Street Bakery nearby to pick up a few items.

One should never turn up at a friends empty-handed. This is instructed in Mothers book of etiquette.

This tiniest bakery is located at a small corner in the artsy Surry Hills and from afar, I could see a long line of people waiting for their lazy Sundays caffeine and pastry/pie fix.

In my book of etiquette, one should also never turn up at a friends famished and low on sugar. It may result in unsightly and unlady-like table manners.

Something has to be done about it. So we indulged in....

633 Bourke Street Surry Hills (Corner Devonshire Street)
Tel: (02) 9699-1011.
Hours: Tue-Fri 7am-6pm

Sat-Sun 8am-5pm

1. Preheat the oven to 200C (400F). Grease an 18 cm (7 inch) round cake tin and line the base and side with baking paper - the paper should protrude about 2.5 cm (1 inch) above the tin.
2. Place the walnuts on a baking tray and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until lightly roasted. Cool and cut into thirds. Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt into a bowl. Repeat to ensure they are evenly mixed.
3. Put the egg whites in a very clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Beat the egg whites on high speed until soft peaks start to form. Slowly pour in the sugar for the egg whites, while the motor is still running, being careful not to overmix - the meringue should reach soft peak stage. Quickly transfer the meringue to another bowl and set side until needed.
4. Put the egg and egg yolk in the bowl of the electric mixer and add the sugar for the egg yolks. Mix on high speed for 3-4 minutes, or until the mixture doubles in volume and is quite airy. With the motor still running, slowly pour in the oil in a thin stream being careful that it doesnt split or deflate too much.
5. Remove the bowl from the mixer and with a spatula or gloved hand, gently fold in the flour mixture until combined. Fold in the carrots and walnuts. Quickly and lightly fold in the meringue - do not fold it through completely, you should still be able to see streaks of meringue through the mix.

6. Pour into the preapred tin and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into centre of the cake comes out clean.
7. Meanwhile, make the cream cheese frosting. Cream the icing sugar and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until pale and smooth. Add the cream cheese in small amounts, allowing it to completely incorporated before adding the rest. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl during this process to ensure even mixing. Add the cream and mix until smooth, being careful not to overmix at this stage or the cream may curdle and separate. If using a different type of cream cheese for this recipe you may need to add a little more cream - the frosting needs to be of a spreadable consistency but not at all runny.
8. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for about 30 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Using a serrate knife, slice horizontally through the centre of the cake to form two even-sized layers and fill with cream cheese frosting.

My version is definitely a little bit more dense than Bourke St. Bakerys as I used wholemeal flour instead. I would also recommend that you half the sugar as I did...its sweet enough (I guess that is a personal preference). Nevertheless, the cake is still delicious with crunchy wholesomeness from the walnuts and full of aroma from the spices!