No Thursday’s Trifles this week. I’m sorry. Didn’t have (or make) time to read the newspapers this week.
And I don’t even have a ‘100 things I love about the Netherlands’-post ready yet.
What I dó have however, is this:
I hadn’t baked a carrot cake for ages. A very funny post by Don’t Bug Me reminded me of carrot cakes (and while you’re there, you can also go to her previous post - it’s about insects - and nominate her blog to be awarded Best Canadian Blog), but I couldn’t find the recipe I used to use. Fortunately I found another one and added a little bit of my own ideas to it. So this is my recipe. I’m giving you both grams and ounces, but I believe English and American ounces differ slightly. And when I cook I use the ‘about-method’. So I measure ‘about’ 200 grams of grated carrot, not exactly. It usually works for me.
6 eggs (I used 8, because our chickens produce small eggs)
250 gr sugar (9 ounces)
2 of those small sachets vanilla sugar, in total about 20 grams (nót, I repeat NOT, the baking powder)
1/2 teaspoon salt
250 gr plain flour (9 ounces)
200 ml vegetable oil
125 gr pecan nuts (4.5 ounces)
200 gr grated carrots (7 ounces)
2 handfuls raisins
250 gr icing sugar (9 ounces)
100 gr butter (3.5 ounces) 100 gr cream cheese (3.5 ounces) (I used Monchou)
lemon juice
Preheat the oven to 175 Celsius.
Beat the eggs with the sugar, vanilla sugar and salt until it has a light yellow colour and creamy consistency (it should form a ribbon if you let it run off a spoon). Sift the flour above it and beat the flour and 200 ml of vegetable oil (bit by bit) through it (I used an electric hand mixer). Spoon the carrots, raisins and the pecan nuts through it. Poor the mixture into a greased cake tin and bake it for about 60 minutes. Remove from the oven (good tip!) let it cool and then….
….beat the butter and the cream cheese until soft (I used a wooden spoon). Beat the icing sugar and a little bit of lemon juice through it until it is a creamy consistency and spread it on top of the cake.
Do you have a great carrot cake recipe? Would you like to share it? Please? Pretty please?
Alright, screw the saving pennies bit; I'm booking a flight now. Save me a piece. I'm on my way...
ReplyDeleteLiz,
ReplyDeleteLooks good doesn't it? It tastes good too. In fact... I don't think you'll make it in time. Sorry ;-)
Looks delicious! I like carrot cake :-)
ReplyDeleteJabblog,
ReplyDeleteSo... where is your recipe? ;-)
Carrot cake was my favorite for a very long time, but it was replaced by German Chocolate cake, also for a very long time. But now I would have to say my favorite cake is one from the American South called Hummingbird Cake. Never fear, it is not made with hummingbirds. It is made with pecans, crushed pineapple, and mashed ripe bananas. Here is Martha Stewart's recipe although others are just as good.
ReplyDeleteP.S. - Martha Stewart says the recipe is from Paul Deen (a cook from Savannah, Georgia, who owns a famous restaurant called "Lady and Sons" and has a cooking program on the Food Network.
ReplyDeleteOops again: Paula (not Paul)
ReplyDeleteRWP,
ReplyDeleteHummingbird Cake. Will definitely check out the recipe (by whomever) and if it doesn't look too difficult, I'll try and make it. Must be healthy too, with all that fruit ;-) Thanks!
Yum! Looks good enough for a ground squirrel!
ReplyDeleteDid Biggles get any?
ReplyDeleteDon't Bug Me!,
ReplyDeleteI paid particular attention to the icing but have not yet seen a ground squirrel in the neighbourhood. And Biggles didn't get any (yet). We call him our big cakemonster. We have to keep the cakes under lock and key ;-)
I had a piece last week Yum It is very popular over here. Just thinking I never heard of wortelcake in Holland?
ReplyDeleteThat looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteBtw - I don't know if you have seen my latest post but from the 1st of November I will be changing to an invite only blog. I hope to see you there. :)
When you send the animals over to visit Auntie Mel? Send me some of the cake too. Ohhhh girlie...that looks absolutely scrumptious!!!!!
ReplyDeleteMarja,
ReplyDeleteyou're right, not a typical Dutch cake. Maar wel lekker ;-)
Holly and Zac,
I'll be there ;-)
Mel,
Only one problem. If I send the dogs over together with the cake, there will be no cake left by the time they arrive at your place ;-)
I loves carrot cake... almost as much as chocolate cake
ReplyDeleteBother! I just missed having this slice with my morning coffee! I seem to remember having a carrot and coriander cake recipe a long time ago, but whether I could find it now is another matter. If it ever turns up, I'll think of you...promise!
ReplyDeleteYum, that looks gorgeous. I like cakes with interesting textures as well as flavours.
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a scrumptious cake, but are you sure it's a carrot cake? Isn't there some sort of law that carrot cakes must have a little frosting carrot on top of them?
ReplyDeleteMY WIFE and I had carrot cake for our wedding cake, by the way. That's how much we love it.
That looks wonderful! I haven't made carrot cake in year but I find myself strangely tempted...
ReplyDeleteCanada is supposed to be metric since 1960-whatever, but we still use cups and ounces and our ovens come in Farenheit. Very confusing.
ReplyDeleteMmmm! Looks delicious!!
ReplyDeleteI do love carrot cake, but I can rarely buy it when out and about in case the icing part contains eggs. The egg IN the cake is OK, but if the icing contains raw egg, I'm in trouble.
I wonder what it would be like with an egg or two less in the cake, and walnuts instead of pecans. Time for an experiment, perhaps!
I love your kitchen counters!
ReplyDeleteAre they black granite? We have the same...but in 12 inch tiles.
Nice work there...yummy.
One of my new lifestyles(old lifestyle revisited) is to bake more and be more homebodylike again...cleaning and such.
I'm on week 2 of gettig up with the sun(actually before it by 2 hours) with my hubby to have a healthier lifestyle...going to bed by 9:30 10 pm!
All that to say...I'll have some recipes later for you...when I begin to become domestic again!
XO
Kac