Of carrot cakes and truth about frostings… Day 5

December 5, 2012 MysTri Mum16 Comments

Ms.Aadya was going to the zoo today and its sort of a tradition in this house that Mumma has to bake her something special for such occasions.I asked her what she wanted and she said,”Carrot Cake”..So,that’s what I baked. I have to tell you,it was quite an experience,cracking eggs,when I had my own cheer-leading team of midget sized people! With every egg that I cracked,the girls cheered..I whisked and they sang and danced..:) I had only just creamed the oil and sugar and Aadi wanted a taste.Nanhi didn’t like the look of the creamed brown sugar,but she threw a tantrum because only didi got to taste it!! Oh! the joys of sibling rivalry!
So,the recipe-this one calls for oil instead of butter.My mom was forever looking for ways to replace butter with low-cal options,so you can imagine her joy when a friend told her that she could replace butter with vegetable oil.Since then all the cakes in our house were made using vegetable oil.And every now and again,I play around with the basic recipe to add flavors.
Without further ado,I present :

Ingredients :

Yields 1 Glad BBQ pan (29cm X 19cms X 5cms)

3 eggs
1 and 1/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup chilled water
2.5 cup self raising flour
2.5 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup chopped nuts(almonds,walnuts,cashews and pistachios)
1/2 tsp baking soda
a pinch of salt
1 tsp cinammon powder
1 tsp nutmeg powder

Method:

Pre-heat the oven at 180 degs (160 fan forced). Grease and sprinkle some flour on the cake pan.

Cream the oil and Sugar together,making sure that all the lumps are broken.Add one egg at a time.Add the flour,walnuts,carrots,salt,spices and the baking soda.Mix it together gently,adding little water at a time.

Pour the batter in the baking pan and bake for 30-40 minutes,till the fork comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and let it cool..

Once cool,you can frost the cake and garnish it.I used Philadelphia Frosting It was divine and for garnish I used chopped nuts(walnuts,almonds,cashews,pistachios)

If you want to make your frosting from scratch,I totally recommend this recipe from Taste.com

60 gm cream cheese
30 gm butter,softened
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
3/4 cup icing sugar.

Place cheese, butter and vanilla in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat until pale. Gradually add icing sugar mixture, beating until combined.
So quick and it turns out so nice and fluffy..ohh yumm!

I still remember the first time I tasted a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting at starbucks in a Borders Book store in Delaware and my first reaction was..umm why cheese? But with every mouthful,I liked it a little better..and now I can’t think of any other frosting that will compliment a carrot cake as the Cream cheese.
That being said,I know my daughter and though Aadya insisted on the CC frosting,I knew it that she wouldn’t like it.I let her taste it,before I frosted the cake..she did and when I asked,she said..hmm not bad…I frosted the cake,she waited patiently and then worked her way through her piece slowly..very slowly..and then,she said,looking extremely shattered..’OK Mumma..I need to tell you the truth about the frosting..I don’t quite like it’
SD and I couldn’t stop laughing..I removed the frosting and she gobbled the cake up.
But she is like me.. she is warming up to the cream cheese.. every now and again,she wants to take a little lick of the frosting…
I heart this cake..because its so light and moist and not very sweet.Its just perfect to school snack or after-school snack or even great with the afternoon cuppa.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do..If you try the recipe,please leave me a comment tell me how you liked it:) and also send me pictures,so I can add them to my reader’s pictures page!

bags · Carrots · crochet · Dessert · Mumma's Kitchen

Carrot Halwa and Squares:)

April 21, 2011 MysTri MumLeave a comment

Last week,DH got a great deal on Blu-ray DVDs and he picked up the Harry Potter Series. We introduced our little Diva to Harry Potter and since then,we have been watching HP,every night..and if she has it her way,even in the mornings.
So,anyway,on last Sunday,we went out for a late lunch-early dinner and after we came back,sat down for a marathon run of HP. While we were watching the movies,I got two things done-
1) Made Carrot Halwa
2) Completed the crochet squares for my bag.
Here’s my stack of Crochet Squares:

And as for the Halwa,here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:
8-10 Large carrots
1 1/4 cup whole milk
200 gms fresh Ricotta
3 tsp ghee
1/2 cup sugar(you can change this as per your taste)
Raisins and cashewnuts

Preparation:
Wash,peel and grate carrots.
In a thick bottomed pan,heat the ghee and add the grated carrots.Toast for a minute or two.
Add the milk and let it simmer on a medium flame,stirring occasionally.
When the milk is almost reduced,add the ricotta and mix well.
Also add the raisins and cashew nuts at this time. Let it cook on a low flame,till all the liquid dries up.
Finally,add sugar and mix well and again let it cook,till the water from the sugar evaporates.

Then,serve yourself a generous portion and dig in! 🙂
Note: This could take 2-3 hours,because you are cooking it on a low flame,but its worth waiting for.
This yields quite a bit- I got a my biggest pyrex bowl full..I am guessing nearly 1L.Just cool it to room temperature and keep it refrigerated.Reheat portions as you require.It should be good for a week to 10 days,if it lasts that long.Just remember to use a dry spoon everytime,you take the halwa out.

My oldest winter memories are of a big pot of carrot halwa,sitting in the fridge and portions of it re-heated for dessert after lunch/dinner or even occasional breakfast of halwa-paratha.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do:) If you do try it,please leave me a comment and let me know how you liked it:)

Baked from Scratch · Cakes · Carrots · Juice · Mumma's Kitchen · orange · Uncategorized

Orange-Carrot Cake

March 27, 2011 MysTri MumLeave a comment

Remember the pulp left over from this delicious juice?Take a look:

Isn’t it gorgeous??
I decided to turn it into a cake. And what a delicious cake it was. And it called for minimum sugar too.

To make this cake,I just twisted,my mom’s regular cake recipe,to accomodate the pulp.This recipe was a hand-me-down from one of my mom’s friends and it was the first cake I ever baked.It still is,my go-to recipe,for when I want to quickly whip up a cake for tea.
Here goes:

Ingredients :

3 eggs
3 cups Self Raising(whole wheat) flour
1 cup sugar
3/4th cup oil
1 and 1/2 cup orange carrot pulp
1/2 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp cinammon powder

Method:

Beat eggs and powdered sugar together.Add oil to the mix and slowly start adding the AP flour.Simulatenously,also add the fruit pulp.Finally add the ginger and cinammon and mix a final time. Pour into a pre-greased tin and bake at 180 deg C for 20-25 mins,or till the skewer,inserted in the center of the cake,comes out clean.

This would yield a 9″ square cake.
If you do try it,do leave a comment and let me know,if it was:)
Happy Baking !!

P.S. you can reduce the quantities of sugar.. I had to add this much for the resident sweet tooth!

Carrots · Juice · Mumma's Kitchen · orange · Uncategorized

Orange-Carrot Juice

March 14, 2011 MysTri Mum1 Comment

Aadya and I are fighting the flu.Our noses haven’t stopped leaking and the throat is hurting too..All we want to do is drink..And I think my body is specifically craving Vit.C.
I dragged myself off the couch and made this amazing fresh juice.It was so refreshing to just look at …drinking it was heavenly.

Here are the ingredients:
4 juicy oranges
4-5 medium sized carrots.
Here’s what I did:
First squeeze the oranges.
Next peel and chop carrots in bite-sized pieces or little bigger.Then blend the carrots with the orange juice. Then just strain the pulp.
OMG!The pulp is so gorgeous..I have never seen such lovely color..I didnt have the heart to throw it..So,I saved it.Now,to figure out,what to do with it..may be I’ll bake a cake??Lets see..
Anyway,how about you have some juice,while I think about it??