Carrot Walnut Cake

Carrot Walnut Cake (21 Mar 2012)

As you know, I'm not quite a baker, hence the lack of sweets and desserts in my blog! However, since the carrot walnut cake is one of the most demanded cakes that my mum bakes, I've somehow got to give it a shot! The recipe is actually from my aunt (an absolutely multi-talented woman. Thank you, Auntie!) who is kind enough to let me post the recipe online.

This is a wonderful simple cake that you just can't have too much of. It's wholesome, healthy and great for any occasion. If you are good at cake deco (something I'm lacking of), do some fancy little carrots that I see most people put on top of the cake :)

Homey Wholesome Cake!

Carrot Walnut Cake Recipe

Ingredients:
2 cups of cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp soda bicarbonate
2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup castor sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cup vegetable oil (I used corn oil)
3 cups grated carrot
1 cup walnut
2 tsp vanilla essence

Cream Cheese Topping:
250gm cream cheese
113gm butter (1/2 a stick)
1 1/2 cups of icing / confectionery sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp lemon juice

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 175 degrees C. Grease a 10 inch round / square pan, whichever you fancy
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda bicarbonate, cinnamon powder and salt. Set aside
3. In a mixer, cream the brown sugar, caster sugar and vegetable oil. Add the eggs one by one while mixing.
4. When batter is creamy, add the vanilla essence.
5. Alternately, fold in grated carrot and walnut.
6. Pour batter into greased pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes. Check with a cake skewer at 40 minutes.
7. When cake is ready, leave on wired rack to cool.
8. To prepare the topping, cream the butter, cream cheese and icing sugar. Add in vanilla essence and lemon juice.
9.  Spread the topping on the cooled cake. I sliced my cake into half so that I could get some of that yummy cream cheese in between :)

  

Pandan Chiffon Cake

Not to my Mum's satisfaction but it'll do for now!

I have to confess... I'm a lousy baker. Baking requires such precision and technique. When I cook, I could improvise depending on the crockery provided or jazz it up to suit the occasion. But for baking, that would be a no no ~ unless you plan to serve a sunken cake or a hard rock cookie!

What was left of it 15 minutes out of the oven!

Occasionally, I'll be inspired to attempt a cake recipe & this time, my inspiration came from my best friend, Colleen and her lil' boy. The thing I love about my BF is that she'd never give up trying! When she had trouble with her initial chiffon recipe, I gave her my mum's to try and I think a lot of other friends gave their advices as well.  I hope her little boy enjoys her cakes and other goodies as much as I love looking at pictures of them! Jiayou, Colleen!

My mum has been making chiffon cakes for over 30 years. I never picked it up because I already have a brilliant baker (Mummy!) at home :) My mum said to me," So easy.....just have to remember the folding and mixing technique! All fool proof!" Mmm... but I must say, using one tablespoon to measure all the ingredients makes life easier!

Pandan Chiffon Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

(A)

5 large egg white

5 tbsp castor sugar

1/2 tsp cream of tartar (optional)

(B)

5 large egg yolk

3 tbsp castor sugar

8 tbsp self raising flour

4 tbsp corn oil

1 tbsp of pandan leave juice extract

2 tbsp of coconut milk   

Method:

1. (B) In a mixing bowl, place egg yolks and sugar and stir with a mixing spoon. Stir in one direction.
2. When yolks & sugar have mixed thoroughly, alternately add the flour, pandan leave juice and coconut milk. Mix well in the same direction
3. Add corn oil one spoon at a time and mix well.
4. (A) In another mixing bowl, whisk the egg whites with the sugar at high speed. Add cream of tartar. Continue to whisk until soft fluffy peaks appear. Turn the bowl upside down to check if the batter will hold. Do not overbeat your egg whites, we are not making meringues.
5. Now add 2 spoonful of (A) into the (B) mixing bowl. Fold in well.
6. Then pour all of (B) into the (A) mixing bowl. Fold until the batter is mixed evenly.
7. Pour the batter into your cake tin. Hold your cake tin firmly and give it a few good thump on the table top. This is to remove the air bubbles.
8. Bake at 160 deg Celsius for 30 minutes. Then another 10 min at 150deg Celsius.

P/S I have attempted pandan, nescafe, chocolate malt & orange flavour. Looking forward to try some local fruit flavour like jackfruit and durian!