Let me start by saying that I have a good feeling about this one. I’ve had (and still have, although my capacity for updating seems to be about as consistent as subways in Stockholm during the winter season) a few blogs during my long long long short life time, but blogging is difficult when what your writing about is either:
A: Lacking a coherent theme
OR
B: Doesn’t actually appeal to you interests in a way that will make you WANT to update (this is crucial)
Baking is a passion of mine and my aspirations of attending a certain prestigious and hell-a expensive culinary school in Paris, is about the only thing I have to look forward to after graduating upper secondary school. Yes, it will require a lot, and that truly means A LOT, of hard work in order to pay for said studies.
Following your dreams is not an easy thing to do, but I’m not really in much of a hurry, I’m only eighteen and I’d like to give the nine-to-five lifestyle a go before I go back to school again. Do some heavy drinking, some heavy dancing and some heavy sleeping pilates, get a job and acquire some life experience.
This recipe is the first in the line of many (hopefully) on this blog due to the fact that this was the first recipe I engineered (fancy word, huh? impressed yet?) myself. Carrot cake is a classic and there are probably thousands of ways you can make it, everybody has different opinions. With or without raisins? With or without nuts? Should you grate the carrots finely or coarsely? Should you blanch the carrots before adding to the batter? It. Never. Ends.
This is my version and it is the only one I use, once I find a recipe I’m perfectly happy with, I don’t even glance at others (OK, not true, I glance, but I rarely sway). Happy baking!
Me being super focused whilst trying to pipe the cream cheese frosting correctly onto my sister’s birthday (carrot) cake. If you’re wondering what those blobs are on either sides of the “16”, they were supposed to be hearts… Yes I agree that my decorating skills need to be improved, luckily my relatives are not picky.
Carrot cake:
Metric/US
3 organic eggs
3dl OR 1 & 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3dl OR 1 & 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla sugar (if you’re using vanilla extract, add it to the egg mix and not to the dry ingredients)
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground (dried) ginger
1/2 – 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
150 grams OR 5.30 oz butter
1 pinch of salt
4 1/2 dl OR 2 cups grated carrots (I do not grate them coarsely)
Cream cheese frosting (to die for):
120 grams OR 4.25 oz softened butter
8 dl OR 3 & 1/2 cups icing sugar
1 teaspoons vanilla sugar
1 lime (zest and juice)
200 grams OR 7 oz cream cheese (philadelphia)
HOW TO:
1. Turn on oven to 150 degrees CELSIUS (OR 300 degrees FAHRENEHEIT).
2. Melt butter for batter – set aside to cool.
3. Whisk eggs and sugar until white and fluffy.
4. Combine flour, vanilla sugar, baking powder, spices and salt. Sift into egg batter and fold in.
5. Add melted butter and grated carrots.
6. Pour into a breaded tin (Round and spring sided with removable bottom and about 24 cm OR about 9.5 inches in diameter).
7. Bake in the middle of the oven for approx. 50 minutes. (When the cake is in the oven, you start making your frosting for later).
Check after half an hour and then every now and then to make sure it doesn’t end up to dry. (You may have to bake it for longer than 50 minutes though). Test with a cake tester, it shouldn’t come out sticky.
8. Leave to cool (it really can NOT be even slightly warm when you spread the frosting on it, but don’t go overboard and put the cake in the fridge or even freezer to cool – that will only make it dry. When the whole cake is done, frosted and all, you can store it in the fridge but make sure it’s covered or it’ll go dry and dull).
Really hard instructions for making the frosting:
1. Combine all the ingredients, whip until (kinda) white .
2. Let sit in fridge until set and no longer runny.
3. Spread/pipe onto your cake.
4. DONE.
Sweet Endeavours 