The ultimate carrot cake.

What has happened to the weather? This time last week we were basking in glorious sunshine and skipping through buttercups. Now it is cold again and I feel like putting the heating back on...In June! Grumble, grumble. Rant over.
Last weekend was beautiful in Devon. Perfect blue skies and a light breeze with bright sunshine. My lovely firend came down to Devon to visit her future in-laws with her new fiancee (hooray) and very sweetly popped over to see us for tea and cake on Sunday afternoon. I made my carrot cake which almost has the texture of a steamed pudding but tastes utterly perfect. It uses orange juice and zest, ground almonds and pecans as well as large quantities of grated carrots. If there is time, I like to make this the day before it is to be eaten so that all the juices and flavours can sink in and deepen. We had pots of tea and a slice (or two) each, then went to enjoy the yellow thing in the sky.

This is the best carrot cake you will ever eat. Yes, really. If I could give you a money back guarantee, I would. But I can't, so you'll just have to take my word for it and get baking.

For the cake you will need:
9 inch spring form cake tin, lined and greased
125g ground almonds
125g plain floor
375g caster sugar - preferable flavoured with vanilla pods
250g butter
150g chopped pecans
450g grated carrots
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract or essence
2 tsp bicarb of sods
1 teaspoon cinnamon
zest of 2 oranges
juice of 1 orange
15 pecan halves to decorate

For the frosting you will need:

225g mascapone cheese

65g unsalted butter

1 tsp vanilla essence

400g icing sugar

Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees C for fan assissted and 200 for non-fan. Prepare all your ingredients before starting as it takes some time to grate the carrots and chop the nuts. In a large mixing bowl beat the butter, sugar and zest until fluffy. Slowly add the eggs, one at a time and beat well after each one.
Fold in the grated carrots and chopped nuts, then the vanilla and orange juice. Sift in the flour, bicarb and cinnamon and fold in with the ground almonds.
Tip into the prepared tin and bake for 50 minutes. Check with a wooden skewer or knife and pop bak in if it is still very wet. This cake will be extremely moist so don't fret if the skewer comes out a bit moist even after another 10 minutes cooking time. Leave to cool on a wire rack and turn out after 30 minutes to cool completely.

To make the frosting, cream the cheese and butter together then add the sugar and vanilla. Spread about 2 thirds onto the top of the cake and the rest aroung the edges. Make sure it is evenly spread. Now decorate the top with the peacn halves. Place 3 in the middle and the rest around the edge.

Enjoy with a cup of tea! x

Death by chocolate cake

Happy Easter! If you haven't noticed, it is Easter weekend. The clocks go forward tonight and the easter bunny will skip merrily through our gardens/window boxes/plant pots/house tomorrow. It is this time of year where I usually wish I were a child again and had an elaborate egg hunt ahead of me in the morning. However, this year I wish I was planning the egg hunt for children. It seems my body clock is also going forward. To cope with this I made the biggest and most wicked cake I could muster. Here is Mary Berry's death by chocolate cake. It is delicious but not for the faint hearted. The texture is incredibly moist and surprisongly light. The next time I make it, I'll alternate the layers of dark chocolate ganache with white chocolate or add in some sliced strawberries in the layers.

 

For the cake you will need:

2 8 inch/20cm round loose bottomed cake tins. Grease and line them.

275g plain flour

2 tsp cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp bicarb of soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

215g caster sugar

3 tbsp golden syrup

3 large eggs, beaten

225ml sunflower oil

225ml milk

For the icing you will need:

450g chocolate (up to you what you use but in this case I used 70 per cent choc which makes the filling set as firm as the outside)

200g butter
If you want a squidgy filling instead use a buttercream or ganache made with double cream instead. 

To decorate:

Shavings of different chocolate, raspberries, malteasers, etc! 

Preheat the oven to 140 degrees C for fan assisted or 160 if no fan. Grease and line your tins.

In a large bowl sieve in your flour, cocoa, bicarb and baking powder. Mix together. Add the sugar and mix again. Make a well in the middle and add your oil, milk, beaten eggs and golden syrup. Beat the mixture really well with a wooden spoon until it is very smooth. 

Pour into the tins and place on the middle shelf. 

Bake for 35-40 minutes until well risen and springy to the touch.  

Leave to cool for a few minutes then turn out and leave to get completely cold. When cold, cut each cake in half horizontally. I find a bread knife is easiest for this.                                                               

To make the icing, break the chocolate up into small pieces and place in a heat proof bowl over a gently simmering pan of water. Make sure the water does not touch the bowl. Stir occassionally and melt the chocolate gently. Be careful not to do this too quickly or the chocolate will split. Take the melted chocolate off the heat and add in the cubed butter. Leave to melt, then stir in. 

Place the wire rack on a baking tray to catch any drips. Start to sandwich the layers together with the ganache. Pour the remaining over the top of the cake and smooth over the whole cake with a pallette knife or any smooth edged knife. Leave to set completely, then add any decoration if you want to.

 Serve as it is or (as suggested by my uncle in California) with clotted cream for extra naughtiness. Enjoy! x