Carrot cake is loved for its subtle spiced flavour and delicious moist texture, plus, it’s perfect with a cup of tea.

While having carrots in the cupboard is as good a reason as any to whip up this tasty treat, National Carrot Day (April 4) is an even better excuse.

Mary Berry has a “popular” cake recipe that's super easy and quick.

The famous baker shared her tasty recipe on her website and said: "Always a popular cake, this American carrot cake needs to be stored in the fridge because of the mascarpone topping."

You can whip up this carrot cake in less than an hour, and it stays fresh in the fridge for days.

Method

First, get your cake tin ready by greasing it and putting baking paper at the bottom.

Turn on your oven to 180C before you start then measure out all the cake ingredients in a big bowl and mix them together. Mary says an electric whisk is best, but a spoon works too.

When everything is well combined, pour the mixture into your cake tin and smooth the top for a nice even bake.

Bake the cake in the preheated oven for about 50 minutes until it's well-risen, golden and starting to pull away from the tin sides.

You can check if it's done by poking a thin skewer into the middle of the cake - it should come out clean.

Let the cake cool down in the tin for a bit before you loosen the sides and turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the topping, mix the mascarpone cheese with the vanilla extract and icing sugar in a small bowl.

Spread this mixture evenly over the top of the cooled cake and sprinkle the chopped walnuts on top. Remember to keep the cake in the fridge.