Meera Sodha’s vegan spicy carrot cake with cream cheese icing

Meera Sodha’s ‘circle of death’ carrot cake, by way of Brontë Aurell, now of the Scandinavian Kitchen in London. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian. Food styling: Emily Kydd. Prop styling: Jennifer Jay. Food styling assistant: Maria Gurevich.

The circle of death was a peculiar ritual when I worked at Innocent drinks: on your birthday, the entire company of about 200 people would secretly descend on you with a cake and sing you happy birthday. I, and many others, always hoped for Brontë’s spiced carrot cake frosted with cream cheese (she later moved on to set up Scandinavian Kitchen in London), because it took the edge off the ordeal.

‘Circle of death’ carrot cake