Moist Carrot Cake

Ok, I know what you are thinking. "Why carrot cake out of all the things you could have made and posted about, whyy whyyyyy?" Sri lankans have this mutual hate or detest for putting vegetables in their desserts. I get it, I really do. The first time I heard about carrot cake when I was a itsy bitsy little kid I was as repulsed as you are right now about the thought of it. "Ewww carrots?, why carrots?, and why in a cake?, that must be fowl". But seriously once you get out of your little Lankan comfort zone and try things that are 'weird' it really does open your eyes to endless food possibilities. That's exactly what happened to me. My cousin made some carrot cake when I was about 12 years old, although I was sceptical to try it, I did anyway and my mind = BLOWN. It really is an amazing concoction. You have to try to it believe it. And for all those who already thought putting carrot in a cake was a brilliant idea - you are special.

So, finally about a decade later I found this super awesome carrot cake recipe and wanted to give it a go, but realised I didn't have any carrots at home. So I kept putting it off until now. One of the subjects that I'm doing for my HR course requires me to do a 30min theory presentation/training session for my class and the following session is going to be the practical training session where I teach the class a skill in 30 minutes. I decided to do cake decorating as my skill. Although I'm pretty crap at it, I thought I could get my sister to teach me a few things about fondant modelling. For the theory session I did a presentation on cakes. History, types, flavours, cake decorating tools, ingredients etc. I decided to make a carrot cake for the class to enjoy after my training session and also to bribe the bitch! The bitch is my teacher. I do not like her at all. If the name-calling did not suggest that, I'm telling you that she's an absolute meanie. She's the biggest bully ever. She picks someone she doesn't like and just keeps going at them. And as per usual, I was picked. I thought I left all that nonsense behind in school. But I thought wrong. In school teachers either loved me or absolutely HATED me, there was never any middle ground. Some liked the tomboyishness and others just thought I was trouble just by looking at me. I thought once you grow up and move on to tertiary education that shit would stop. But I guess this woman clearly doesn't agree. Anyway, whatever! I passed the theory session. So all's well in the world, until next week when I have to train the class on fondant decorating. Help!

Anyway, back to the carrot cake. Got side tracked as usual. I have to say that this is the most amazing cake I have ever made. It is so amazingly yummily superbly moist. I cannot believe how good it is myself. You must try it. My housemate Loopi doesn't even like carrot cake or nuts for that matter, but she was orgasming after she ate it. Although the process seems really long, it's quite simple. So give it a go and let me know!

Your Challenge: Moist carrot, what a challenge!

 

 

 

 Ready --- Steady --- Bake!

Moist Carrot Cake
(serves 10 or more) 

INGREDIENTS:

240g  All Purpose Flour or Self Raising Flour

300g  Sugar

50g  Brown Sugar, packed (dark or light)

1 1/2 teaspoon  Baking Soda (if using all purpose flour)

1 teaspoon  Baking Powder (if using all purpose flour)

1 teaspoon  Salt

4 teaspoon  Cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon  Nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon  Ground Cloves 

1/4 teaspoon  Ground Ginger

200g Finely Grated Peeled Carrot

85g  Coconut Flakes, sweetened

225g  Crushed Pineapple or Peaches, drained

       (reserve 2 Tablespoon of drained Pineapple/Peach juice)

110g  Nuts (Cashews, Walnuts or Pecans) Chopped into small pieces

200g/250ml  Vegetable Oil

2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

2 tablespoons Maple Syrup
1 Tablespoon  Orange Zest, Fresh and Finely Grated 

3  Eggs, extra large

165g  Raisins (Optional)

Cream Cheese Frosting:

70g butter

170g icing sugar

125g cream cheese

2 teaspoons vanilla essence

 

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. 

2.  Prepare two 9 inch cake pans by spraying with Vegetable non-stick spray (like Pam Spray) and line with a parchment paper round on the bottom then spray the top of the parchment.  Or spray a 9 X 13 baking pan with Vegetable non stick spray (like Pam Spray) or use 20 jumbo Cupcake liners in a Muffin tin without using Pam spray. 

3. In a large bowl whisk well:  Flour, Sugar, Brown Sugar, Baking Soda, Baking Powder, Salt, all Spices. 

4. Peel then Grate approx 5-6 medium Carrots to yield 2 cups packed.  Grate Carrots finely to no more than 1/4 inch pieces.  Or process in a food processor until finely grated but not mush.  It is important that you peel the Carrots before grating.  You do not want the tough skins in your cake. 

5. In a medium bowl or KitchenAid bowl add Carrots, Grated Fresh Orange Peel, Drained Pineapple, Raisins (optional), Coconut Flakes, Walnuts or Pecans and mix well with a big spoon.   

6. To this mixture add the Vegetable Oil, Vanilla Extract and Eggs one at a time mixing in well then add the reserved Pineapple/peach juice and maple syrup and mix well.  Scrape down bowl often.   

7. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix with a hand mixer or Kitchen Aid for  about 1 minute until well mixed.  Do not over mix. 

8. Pour divided into prepared (as above) 9 inch cake pans, or 9 X 13 pan, or approximately 20 Cupcake liners filled 3/4 full or a 9 X 13 baking sheet sprayed with Pam but no parchment paper needed.   

9. Bake at 180°C for 25-30 mins for Cupcakes,  

35-40 minutes for 9 inch layer cakes and 

45-50 mins for 9 X 13 in the center of the oven.  

Half way through cooking rotate the pans for even cooking.  A toothpick will come out clean when done.  All ovens vary in timing so check at lowest time first and if not done put back in oven and recheck in 2- 3 minutes. My oven took about 30mins to bake.

10. For the icing: whip butter and icing sugar together till smooth. Then add the cream cheese and mix well. Add vanilla in last to get a smooth texture. You may add a pinch of salt if it is too sweet.

11. Allow the cake to cool completely in pan for 1-2 hrs. before removing to ice with Cream Cheese Icing.   Place 1/4 of icing between the two layers and when placing the top cake layer on, put the flat side of the cake (the bottom when it was in the cake pan) facing up for a flat top which makes a more attractive cake and easier to ice. dust with a little ground cinnamon for effect.


Challenge Accepted ??? 

Enjoy!

Tosakanth

Archa's Sago Pudding

This one goes out to my Grandma who is the bestest cook ever. I'm sure she's up in heaven cooking up a storm with all her new and old Bandas. If you ever had the honour of meeting my Grandma you would know what a cool chika she was. If you didn't have the pleasure of meeting the most awesomest lady, the following are a few fun facts about her.

She lived till 95. She's the oldest person I know. Custest Grandma. Bestest Grandma. The smallest person I know, like pocket sized. She's a de Silva who married another de Silva. She always won Avurudu Kumari. She was born on the 14th of April (Sinhalese & Tamil New Year) that made her automatically qualify for Avurudu Kumari I think. She knows P-language (that is the coolest). Her letters are the most interesting things you would ever read. You need a magnifying glass to read them though, because her handwriting was so small. She was a book worm - spent most days reading. She made the best Bombay Toast. Always had an ample supply of Orange Barley at home for us. She loved her sweets. She loved eating Banis and Monis Baby Rusks. She was the only one who could get me to eat fish and that was also only if she made it herself. Her stuffed Cuttlefish and meatloaf were out of this world. I only recently found out that she used to hide her crystal ornaments when I went to visit her as a kid because I was so naughty, I would break them by just even being around them (bit of a bull in a china shop I was). She was the only 95 year old that I know who had naturally black hair at that age (few white ones, but mostly black). She's been through a world war. Lived during the British colony. Stood in line for days to watch the royal wedding (Charles & Diana). Favours my dad way too much over my aunts. Never favoured one grandchild over the other though. Constantly worried about the whereabouts of her China. Loved to collect/use China. Has the best collection of Chimney Lamps. Got me hooked onto 4711 (perfume) because she had hundreds of them. Showed me that old people are cool. She was very very sneaky. More open minded than any other Lankan that I know. Always believed in me. Always proud of me no matter what I do. Always wanted me to be/do what makes me happy. Always said that people will talk, forget them and be who you are and be proud of it. Thanks for everything Archa. You were the best and I miss you dearly. 

R.I.P Archa

 

14 April 1917 ~ 08 June 2012

I decided to write this ode to Archa post because she used to make the bestest Sago pudding (Sau). It was a white version, not the brown one everyone makes and it was sooo good. She mixed a few fried Cashews in it too. I was craving sago pudding one day and wanted to make Archa's one just 'cause. It turned out super well. I mixed some other random stuff into it as usual, so it's not really Archa's one, mine turned out brownish because I added honey and cinnamon to it. But close enough. Next time I will stick to just sugar and it'll be Archa's white sago pudding.

Your challenge: This one's for you, Archa! Let's make her proud.

 

Ready --- Steady --- Cook!

Sago Pudding

(serves 4)

INGREDIENTS: 

200g Sago(Sau)/Tapioca

150ml thick coconut milk

50ml Milk

50ml Water

50g Sugar (add to taste)

2 tablespoons Honey

1 teaspoon ground Cinnamon

pinch of salt

15g cashew nuts (optional)

3 tablespoons butter (optional)

METHOD:

1. Wash sago and soak in water for about an hour.

2. Heat pan and add sago and bring to boil.

3. Stir continuously to avoid sago forms ticking to the pan. 

4. Add the milk and coconut milk to the sago and keep mixing

5. When sago starts cooking, the pearls become clear.

6. Add sugar, honey and cinnamon and keep mixing till most of the pearls are clear.

7. Add a pinch of salt to taste.

8. Add water if you want it to be thinner, add more coconut milk if you like the coconut taste.

9. In a separate pan heat the butter and lightly fry the cashew nuts. Mix the butter-cashew mixture into the sago. (the butter gives a beautiful flavour to it, you can add some extra butter if you like)

Note: you can add plums/currants if you like. You can either serve it hot or cold. You can also add a little coconut milk to garnish with some palm syrup before serving.

Challenge Accepted ???

Enjoy!

Tosakanth

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

In school we used to go for these girls school District and All-Island Tennis Tournaments. The thing we used to look forward to the most was the amount of food we will be consuming during that week. Tennis matches were the best! Our team consisted of a bunch of really close friends who just constantly had fun. Up-to-date we still remember the silly things that we used to do at the matches and roll on the floor laughing. We didn't have superstar players but we always managed to at least bag second place. Jam and I were doubles partners, we were even on TV once because of this crazy intensely long match we played. Everyone at the tennis club knew who we were after watching that match, thus they came to watch the final match and we failed miserably at it. Whatever, we had fun anyway. 

So getting back to the food, I used to bring these massively awesome hotdogs and 'fried items'. I loved sausages, they were my thing and my team mates look forward to eating them because they were so so so good. The other favourite thing we did was buy a 600ml bottle of strawberry milk from the canteen. It was this gigantic pink bottle which finished in a few seconds because everyone just pounces at the person carrying it. And our all time favourite food at the tennis club was what they sold in the fancy gym attached to it. CHOCOLATE OATMEAL COOKIES. I have never been a fan of oatmeal for some weird reason. Always thought it was old peoples food. I was sceptical initially when everyone was buying it. The only reason we ventured in to the gym was because it was Air Conditioned and we couldn't bare the heat outside anymore. I'm glad we ventured in, because they were soo yummy. They had different flavours but the Chocolate one was my favourite. 5-6 years later I decided to make some at home. It was good. They get gooey after a day or two, initially they are a little cake-y. But it brought back fond memories. Missing and reminiscing. Good times, best food, great friends, awesome memories. Those were the days.

Your Challenge: oatmeal is healthy, so don't feel guilty.

Ready ---  Steady --- Bake!

Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies

(Makes 25 approx.)

INGREDIENTS: 

100 g all-purpose flour 

15g unsweetened cocoa powder 

1g ground cinnamon 

95g margarine/butter

60g brown sugar 

85g white sugar 

1 egg 

4ml vanilla extract 

85g rolled oats 

70g semisweet chocolate chips (optional) 

3g baking powder (only if using Plain Flour)

2g baking soda (only if using Plain Flour)

3g salt  (only if using Unsalted Butter)

 

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease cookie sheets. Stir together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside. 

2. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine, brown sugar and white sugar. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients using a wooden spoon. Mix in the oats and chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto cookie sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies. 

3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Note: If you want it to be a bit more gooey than Cake-y, add a bit more butter or an egg OR reduce the amount of flour. If using plain flour, then reduce the amount of baking soda and baking powder to reduce it from fluffing up too much.

Ps: the batter tastes amazing. You have to have some raw. 

Challenge Accepted???

Enjoy!

Tosakanth

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I realised I hadn't eaten a proper meal in a few days, the last time I ate a full meal was Monday dinner and today is Friday. Whoopsy daisies. Just been lazying around at home doing useless stuff online. Thus I decided to switched on my housewife mode today and started cooking and cleaning. lucky for you I documented what I cooked. Anyway, arranged the cupboards because it looked like a nuclear bomb had gone off in there. Also arranged the counter-top and got rid of the 5 different types of black tea and put it all in one compact variety box. Finished off/threw out all the tiny bits and pieces that were leftovers just lying around in massive boxes and cleaned out my baking cupboard and arranged them in a methodical order. I may be a bit OCD. I'm an utter mess when I'm just chillin', but when I start cleaning I clean till everything is neat, tidy, orderly and shiny. In that way I'm a meticulous perfectionist, but most of the time I'm just lazy. 

Back to the food. I was going to make Tomato and Basil soup, but realised we didn't have any basil left. So made a fusion french onion tomato coriander soup thingy. Then I remembered that I came across this Sweet and Sour chicken recipe online. I love sweet and sour. I think it's a Lankan thing, because if we go to any Chinese restaurant you have to order Sweet and Sour Prawns and you can never get the same flavour/taste anywhere else in the world. So I gave it a shot because I've always wanted to make it. The sauce was really good, not exactly like the Lankan version but I guess if you add some carrots and pineapples and a lot of artificial colours you could perfect it. 

Your Challenge: make some Sweet and Sour to make you miss mother Lanka.

 

Ready --- Steady --- Cook!

Sweet and  Sour Chicken

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken Breading:
3-5 chicken breast
salt and pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup canola oil

Sauce:
3/4 cups sugar

6 Tablespoons ketchup

1/2 cup white distilled vinegar

3 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon garlic salt

METHOD:

1. Rinse chicken, trim off fat or extras and then cut into 1 inch cubes.

2. Season with salt and pepper. 

3. Dip chicken into cornstarch and coat all the way and then into eggs.

4. Heat oil in large skillet. Cook chicken until browned. 

5. Place in baking dish. 3 chicken breasts can be in a 9x9 but 5 chicken breasts fits better in a 9x13.

The Sauce:

1. Whisk all ingredients until smooth. 

2. Then pour evenly over chicken. 

3. Turn chicken so the sauce gets on both sides and then put in the oven at 160C for 15 minutes. turn chicken and then cook for 15 more minutes.

Challenge Accepted???

Enjoy!

Tosakanth