The last carrot crumbles

Today I have finished the last slice of the carrot cake I made on Sunday for my friends. They all seemed to enjoy it. And they looked honest. I need to practice at taking good close shots of food - I'm seriously considering cultivating this passion for food and photography. Who knows if something in the future comes up?

At least I am already in the right environment. Helping poor people from hunger. A bit the other side of the spectrum though. Food security v food abundance. I think food (well this thought is not that original and I am not the first person who has said it) has a central role in people's life. Most of our celebrations are around food. And funny but true, some of our best travelling memories involve food in a way or in another.

Anyway, going back to my cake. Here is the recipe I got from the website. It is a GoodFood recipe which I adapted slightly (a bit less oil and sugar and sandwiched filling rather than just on the top). I think the recipe could be adapted to cupcakes, just distribute the mix into the little cups (up to 3/4) and bake for 20-25 minutes instead of 35.

Sandwiched Carrot Cake

150g raising flour;

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda;

1 tsp baking powder;

2 eggs;

130g caster sugar;

250g coarsely grated carrots;

125ml vegetable oil;

1 tsp vanilla essence;

2 tsp cinnamon powder;

150g cream cheese;

200g icing sugar;

50g butter.

1. Preheat the oven to C180.

2. Sift the flour and mix the soda and baking powder. Add the cinnamon.

3. Grate the peeled carrots (not too fine as if you were grating cheese for your pasta) and add them to the floury mix.

4. Beat the eggs and add the sugar and vanilla. Mix well.

5. Add the oil to the eggs.

6. Add the wet mix to the dry mix and incorporate everything well to ensure all the ingredients are sticking together.

7. Pour the mix into two small sandwich tins previously greased. Place them in the oven on the same level and bake them for 30minutes at C180.

8. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool down on a rack for at least 20 minutes. I left mine resting for the entire night and I believe the flavour intensifies. The advantage is also that you don't have to rush and do lots of things at the same time in case you are cooking more.

9. For the filling and icing. Mix 150g cream cheese with 50g butter and 200g icing sugar. Use half of this mix to fill the cake by distributing on top of one of the cakes.

10. Place the second cake on top so that the filling can be seen and gives a pretty effect. Spread the other half of the filling on top of the second cake using a fork so that you can give some nice ridge effects. Sprinkle some grated carrot on top to garnish.

I know that by posting another cake I shew away all my "male readers" as for some reasons men don't seem to like baking while women do. Is it because men want to control what they do? Or because women are naturally a baby-oven? Mhmmm....I wonder..

Cherries in haste

This is a super quick blog before I go to bed getting ready to our hopefully super sunny, sea and fishiy holiday in Corsica! I promise that I will try to learn a couple of recipes from the Italo/French island and tell you all about it!
This afternoon I had my friend Viviana, who I hadn't seen for ages; in fact so far it seems that we only managed to meet each other at Stansted flying to Italy on a s***** Ryanair plane....funny isn't it?

So as I thought it was kind of a special event I felt it was good to cook a cake for her to go with her cup of vanilla tea. Despite the fact that poor Viv had to provide most of the ingredients as I couldn't really leave the house as I was waiting for a delivery which in the typical English way come between 8am and 7pm....and I had no eggs and flour in the larder! I know, how pathetic is that!
Anyway, going back to the celebratory bit, I had the idea (not that original afterall as this is the fifth time that I make one...Russell has come to hate them by now!) to use our cherries that we froze some time ago, as we had something like 1,850,000 cherries from our massive tree.....and made a clafoutis...the recipe goes like this:

For 6 people

Ingredients

> 3 eggs; 75g caster sugar; 75g flour; 1 tsp of vanilla essence; 300ml milk; 300g cherries (enough to cover the bottom of the dish - I never weight them to be honest); 1 tsp baking powder.

Preparation

> Place the cherries on the bottom of a buttered tin (20cm diameter maximum).

> Beat the eggs with the sugar; add the vanilla extract.

> Add the milk and keep beating the mix.

> Add the flour to which you will have incorporated the baking powder (mix well or you will have a souffle' effect only on one side of the cake!) - use a sift to pass the flour to the eggy mix.

> Pour the mix on the cherries and cook in the oven for 35 minutes at 180C.

> Remove from the oven and let the cake to cool. Serve warm or cold with cream, custard or ice cream.

The cake is really easy and super light as it has no butter and very little flour and sugar! A bonus for a heavy dinner with friends like tonight...the six of us had 5 bottles of wine which being a Wednesday wasn't too bad I guess...I feel ready to go to bed though...and ready to be on another s***** Ryanair plane tomorrow morning.....sun, sea and fish...wait for me!!! I'm arriving!!!

I promise I will write more when I am back....