Today I made this particular carrot cake for three very good reasons.
- I dont have any white sugar in the house.
- I have a tub of sour cream that needs to be used pronto.
- I haven’t made carrot cake for at least a week month year.
This carrot cake is a lighter one. I don’t mean light in calories though… light in texture.
I used to have a very good recipe for a microwave carrot cake that had a whole tin of crushed pineapple in it. Unfortunately, when I sold my microwave before leaving Australia I gave them the instruction book with it… which had the recipe inside! I have recently been given a couple of similar recipes but I have to test them first.
Probably multiple times.
Then I will phone Jenny. (Have you phoned Jenny yet?)
Here we go…
Preheat your oven to 160 C. Grease a 22 cm round tin and line with non-stick baking paper
2 1/2 cups self-raising flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 cups grated carrot
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 cup vegetable oil
Sift flour and spices into a bowl. Stir in the brown sugar and break up any clumps. Add grated carrot.
In another bowl mix eggs, sour cream and oil until combined.
Add wet ingredients to the flour and carrot mixture and mix until well combined.
Spoon into prepared tin and smooth the surface. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Cover with your favorite cream cheese frosting and devour!
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
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80 g softened cream cheese
40 g softened unsalted butter
1 tablespoon lemon juice
200 g icing sugar
Place all ingredients in a mixer and beat until smooth. If you like a bit more tang, add a small amount of finely grated lemon rind.
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60 g cream cheese
20 g unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
2 teaspoons orange juice
1 cup sifted icing sugar
Beat cream cheese, butter, orange rind and juice until light and fluffy – Much easier with electric mixer 
Beat in icing sugar until smooth.
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100 g white chocolate melts
60ml cream
200 g softened cream cheese
40 g icing sugar
Melt chocolate and cream in small saucepan stirring constantly over low heat. Cool slightly. Add cream cheese and icing sugar. Beat well until smooth.
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These are delicious served warm or cold.
2 cups self-raising flour
3/4 cup sugar
75 g butter
1 cup milk
1 egg
grated rind of 1 large or 2 small lemons
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
Mix flour and sugar in bowl.
Melt butter, add the milk, egg and lemon rind. Beat well with a fork to combine.
Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until ingredients are only just dampened. Do not overmix.
Divide the mixture between 12 greased muffin cups. Bake at 200 C for 10 minutes.
Stir together the lemon juice and sugar and drizzle over the muffin as soon as they are removed from the oven. I like to prick the top of the muffins with a toothpick so the flavour soaks in more. Leave to stand in the pans for only a few minutes as the syrup will harden and stick the muffins to the pans.
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125 g butter
1/2 teaspoon coconut essence
1 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
300 g sour cream
80 mls milk
Preheat oven to 180 C
Grease square cake tin and line with non-stick baking paper
Beat butter, essence and sugar until light and fluffy. beat in eggs one at a time.
Stir in coconut, sifted flour, sour cream and milk in two batches.
Spread mixture in tin. Bake for approximately 40 minutes.
** I have also been told this mixture makes lovely cupcakes. Haven’t tried it yet though.
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This is incredibly delicious!
400 g butter, chopped
400 g good quality dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 cups caster sugar
6 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
2 x 60 g Mars Bars, chilled & chopped
Preheat oven to 160 degrees C. Grease a 4cm deep, 22 cm x 28 cm base pan. Line bottom and two sides with non-stick baking paper.
Combine butter and chocolate in large heatproof microwave safe bowl. Microwave uncovered on Medium High for 3-4 minutes, stirring every minute, or until almost melted. Add cocoa and whisk until smooth.
Add sugar and mix well. Add one third of egg and stir to combine. Repeat with remaining egg. Sift the flour over chocolate mixture . Stir gently until just combined.
Pour mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle Mars Bar over batter and press in slightly. Bake for 60-65 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre has moist crumbs clinging.
Cool completely in pan (this is the hardest part of the entire recipe! It requires great self control not to devour it immediately) then cut into squares. Very nice on its own, or served slightly warm with whipped cream.
Enjoy!
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1 kg potatoes
50 g butter
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp freshly chopped herbs (thyme, oregano)
200 g piece speck or pancetta, cut into 1 cm cubes (or use bacon)
1/2 cup dry white wine
200 ml thickened cream
250 g reblochon, raclette or gruyere cheese
Preheat oven to 200 degrees C
Place potato in large pot of cold salted water. Bring to the boil and cook for three minutes. Drain well.
Melt butter in large frypan over medium heat. Add onion and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, thyme and speck or pancetta, and stir for 5 minutes. Stir in wine, cream, potato and most of the cheese.
Transfer mixture to large baking dish and sprinkle remaining cheese over top. Cover with baking paper and then foil. Bake 20 minutes then remove baking paper and foil. Bake for a further 20 minutes until bubbling and golden.
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75 g self-raising flour
75 g plain flour
90 g rolled oats
70 g dessicated coconut
140 g brown sugar
130 g sultanas
95 g choc bits
125 g butter, melted and cooled
1 egg, lightly whisked
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius. Brush a 17 x 27cm tin with melted butter to grease and line base and two sides with non-stick baking paper.
Combine flours, oats, coconut, sugar, sultanas and choc its in a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the melted butter and egg. Stir to combine then spoon into prepared pan. Use back of metal spoon to smooth the surface.
Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely before cutting into squares.
This slice will keep for up to 4 days in an airtight container out of direct sunlight. Experiment and try different ingredients. eg using dried apricots in place of sultanas is delicious.
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This is so good! Great for a dinner party.
350g chicken breast fillets
¼ cup lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
100g thinly sliced prosciutto
1 Lebanese cucumber
2 tablespoons seasoned pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ cups penne pasta, cooked
½ cup thinly sliced sun dried tomatoes
½ cup pitted black olives, halved
½ cup halved bottled artichoke hearts
½ cup parmesan cheese flakes
Creamy Basil Dressing
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon seasoned pepper
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 teaspoons cornflour
1/3 cup water
2/3 cup cream
1/3 cup shredded fresh basil
Salt, to taste
Remove excess fat and sinew from chicken. Flatten slightly with a mallet or rolling pin.
Place chicken in medium bowl with combined lemon juice and garlic. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight, turning occasionally.
Cut prosciutto into thin strips. Cut cucumber in half lengthwise, then cut each half into slices.
Drain chicken and coat in seasoned pepper. Heat oil in large heavy based frying pan. Cook the chicken for four minutes on each side, or until lightly browned and cooked through. Remove from heat. Cool and cut into 2 cm pieces.
Combine pasta, chicken pieces, cucumber slices, prosciutto, sundried tomatoes and artichoke hearts in a large serving bowl. Pour warm creamy basil dressing over and toss gently to combine.. Serve salad warm or cold, sprinkled with parmesan flakes.
Creamy Basil Dressing
Combine oil, vinegar, seasoned pepper and mustard in a medium pan. Blend cornflour with water in a small bowl or jug until smooth. Add to pan. Whisk over medium heat for 2 minutes or until sauce boils or thickens. Add cream, basil and salt. Stir until heated through.
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Today I made this particular carrot cake for three very good reasons.