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We've been baking here. Chas made MERINGUES! and they were PERFECT! I can't tell you how he did it, because I have always been a meringue 'fail', with nice peaky white things quickly turning into one big flat brown thing which sticks. Chas' meringues defied gravity and were OH so yummy. Hooray for young men who take kitchen matters into their own hands!
However, my carrot cake is the stuff dreams were made of:
Heat oven to 325
3 cups flour: I use about half white, half whole wheat or kamut flour
1 tsp baking powder
1½ tsp baking soda
We've been baking here. Chas made MERINGUES! and they were PERFECT! I can't tell you how he did it, because I have always been a meringue 'fail', with nice peaky white things quickly turning into one big flat brown thing which sticks. Chas' meringues defied gravity and were OH so yummy. Hooray for young men who take kitchen matters into their own hands!
However, my carrot cake is the stuff dreams were made of:
Heat oven to 325
3 cups flour: I use about half white, half whole wheat or kamut flour
1 tsp baking powder
1½ tsp baking soda
Chopped Walnuts, 1 or 2 cups depending on how much you like walnuts
Raisins (optional, my kids sometimes, randomly, hate them)
2 tsp cinnamon and some nutmeg or mace to taste
½ tsp salt
1½ cups oil
1½ cups brown sugar
4 eggs
2 cups chopped pumpkin or carrot (I use more...)
1 tsp vanilla
Sift together white flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. If you're lazy and you don't sift, you'll get bits of baking soda. Eeeew! Stir in nuts and raisins. If they are well coated with flour, they will not sink during baking.
Put the oil in a blender OR smoothie maker with cup measurements. Add carrot (or pumpkin) until you get to 3½ cups (that's 1½ cups oil + 2 cups carrot, 'k?)
2 tsp cinnamon and some nutmeg or mace to taste
½ tsp salt
1½ cups oil
1½ cups brown sugar
4 eggs
2 cups chopped pumpkin or carrot (I use more...)
1 tsp vanilla
Sift together white flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. If you're lazy and you don't sift, you'll get bits of baking soda. Eeeew! Stir in nuts and raisins. If they are well coated with flour, they will not sink during baking.
Put the oil in a blender OR smoothie maker with cup measurements. Add carrot (or pumpkin) until you get to 3½ cups (that's 1½ cups oil + 2 cups carrot, 'k?)
Yes, I experimented with my smoothie maker (mine's a Kenwood, a UK brand. The 'Back to Basics' one pictured looks like the same thing. It MUST be able to blend frozen fruit and ice, or it will soon burn out on the carrots!) and it was even better than the blender. You may want to blend the carrots and oil in two batches, but really I just broke the rules and filled it up to about three and a half cups, and the result was a golden, creamy wonderment which mixed brilliantly with the other ingredients.
Pour amazing carrot and oil mixture into sifted dry ingredients, and add everything else. Mix well and pour into greased AND FLOURED loaf pans or muffin cases.
Pour amazing carrot and oil mixture into sifted dry ingredients, and add everything else. Mix well and pour into greased AND FLOURED loaf pans or muffin cases.
Bake for 50 mins at 350, or about 30 mins for muffins. Mmmm.
Oh and PS, forget about twitter. Definitely not worth the time.
Oh and PS, forget about twitter. Definitely not worth the time.
Comments
I make meringues every Christmas. The trick is to back them slowly at a low temperature. Yum yum yum
I always loved that carrot cake. Yummy!