Carrot Cake

There's something so more-ish about carrot cake that makes it the perfect every day cake. And if you want to dress it up, simply top it with a cream cheese frosting (below) and some pecan nuts to decorate. For the "low carb high fat" foodies, you can substitute normal flour for almond flour, quarter the quantity of oil and add 2 teaspoons of baking powder.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of brown sugar
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp oil
• 2 large eggs
• 3-4 large grated carrots
• 1 small grated apple
• 1 cup of self-raising flour
• 100g of pecans (more or less as preferred)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• Pinch of salt

Frosting

• 70g cream cheese 
• 25g unsalted butter
• 150g icing sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla paste/1 tbsp lemon juice

Method

*Heat oven to 180c*

1. Beat sugar and oil until thick adding one egg at a time.

2. Add grated carrots and apple and mix until combined. 

3. Sift in the flour, salt, spices and bicarb of soda, mixing until all combined.

4. Add broken pecans and mix.

5. Bake for 60 minutes in a medium loaf pan.

Once cool, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth, gradually adding the icing sugar. At this point you can either add the vanilla paste/extract or lemon juice if using instead.Once the texture is light and fluffy, generously cover the cake with the frosting.

*Decorate with pecans for a beautiful finish*

                                        

                                                                  Happy baking B x

Macaroons

Macaroons...need I say more? Beautiful, delicate french confections filled to the brim with white chocolate ganache - hungry yet? These are the ultimate sugary treats and even better yet, they can be stored in the freezer for months!

Ingredients

• 85g icing sugar
• 80g ground almonds
• 2 egg whites (+-35g each) - ideally staled for 2 days 
• 80g granulated sugar
• Coloring of choice

• 60ml pouring cream
• 180g white chocolate chips

Method

1. Place icing sugar and ground almonds into a food processor and blitz until fine and passes through a sieve. Add 1 batch of egg white (+-35g) to the almond mixture, mixing until it resembles a thick paste. Color as desired and set aside.
2. For the Italian meringue place the other batch of egg white (+-35g) in a bowl. 
3. Add 50ml of water and the granulated sugar to a small pot on low heat. Keep stirring until all granules have been dissolved before bringing to a boil. 
4. While the sugar syrup is heating up, start beating the egg white. 
5. Once the syrup reaches 118C remove from heat and slowly pour into the stiffly beaten egg white. Continue beating the mixture for another minute or 2 until the bowl is no longer hot to the touch.
6. Gradually fold the meringue into the colored almond mixture until it holds a ribbon for almost 30 seconds. You want to ensure the mixture isn't too thick or too runny. Avoid over-mixing.
7. Using a piping bag with a normal round nozzle, pipe the macaroons onto silicone baking paper/mats and set aside for 15-30 minutes until a "skin" has formed. 
8. Bake macaroons at 150C in a conventional oven or 140C in a fan assisted oven for about 14 minutes. 

*All ovens vary, the above is only a guideline. Keep an eye on the macaroons as they should not brown. 

*Recipe makes about 20 macaroons.

*Staling of egg whites is simply to separate the egg white from the yolk and let this sit in an uncovered container in the refrigerator for a day or 2. This helps give the macaroons a shiny texture.

For the ganache:

1. Heat cream on stove until it begins to boil, remove from heat and pour over chocolate chips. Let it stand for 5 minutes before stirring. Once combined let it set at room temperature for about an hour. 
2. Assemble macaroons by sandwiching two shells together with the chocolate ganache. 
3. Voila.

Happy baking B x

Red Velvet Cupcakes

These cupcakes are one of my favorite treats and a real crowd pleaser too! 

Ingredients

• 100g unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp red food coloring
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 2 Tbsp cocoa powder 
• 1/2 cup buttermilk

• 120g cream cheese
• 60g unsalted butter 
• 1 tsp vanilla paste
• 1 1/2 cups icing sugar 

Method

*Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius*

1. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Beat in egg, vinegar and food coloring.
3. Add buttermilk, sift in flour and cocoa powder and fold until combined. 
4. Spoon mixture evenly into paper cases.

*Bake for 22 minutes

*Makes about 12 cupcakes

1. Once cool, beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla paste in a bowl using electric mixer.
2. Gradually add the icing sugar until combined. 
3. Finally, generously pipe frosting on to cupcakes.

                                 

                                                            Happy baking B x