SPICED CARROT AND ORANGE CAKE

Had some friends coming over last week for tea and that’s enough reason for you to whip up something so decadent and delicious. Made Spiced Orange and Carrot Walnut Cake with zesty cream cheese frosting... I make this often as carrot cake is a family favorite. Its zesty fluffy dreamy cream cheese frosting pairs just right to cut through the sweetness of carrot cake.

It certainly is a crowd pleaser dessert which goes so well whether you serve it for tea or as a dessert...it’s super delicious!! I topped it up with basil shoot and leaves which are blooming beautifully in my garden.

The cake plate I used is a mystery...I must admit, I bought it few years back, but somehow I wasn’t very convinced with my purchase and it was hiding behind in my crockery cupboard, pulled it out and thought of using it the other day...and to my surprise it just looked an absolute stunner. So so happy that I chose this to present my cake...what do you say??

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SERVES: 16-20 servings

PREP TIME: 20 minutes

BAKING TIME: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 175g unsalted butter, room temperature

• 1 cup soft brown sugar, firmly packed

• 3 eggs

• 1 naval orange, zested and juiced (1/3 cup)

• 2 medium carrots, washed peeled and grated

• 2 cups self-raising flour

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

• 1/4 tsp nutmeg, freshly grated

• 1 cup walnuts, chopped

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 4 oz/125g cream cheese (full fat), room temperature

• 95g butter salted, room temperature

• 1/2 cup icing sugar

• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

• Zest of 1 orange

For Garnish:

• 6-8 Dehydrated orange circles

• 6-8 walnut halves

• 5-6 Fresh basil leaves

MET

1. Preheat oven to 180°C, grease and prepare the 9” ring pan with butter.

2. In an electric mixer bowl, beat butter, sugar and zest together with paddle attachment until it’s light and creamy in texture, add eggs one at a time and beat them for 2 minutes.

3. Add orange juice and mix for another minute, don’t worry if the mixture curdles.

4. Remove bowl from machine.In a separate bowl, sift together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon powder and nutmeg; now add these dry ingredients to the butter mixture in two batches and fold with spatula to combine well and make lump-free batter.

5. Fold carrots and walnuts in batter until well combined, and take care not to over mix it.

6. Pour the batter in greased and prepared pan, bake it in pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes or until the the skewer comes out clean. Leave it in pan for 10 minutes, remove on cooling rack to cool cpmpletely.

To Make Frosting:

1. In an electric mixer bowl, whisk the cream cheese for a minute till it’s smooth and creamy; add butter and whisk for 2-3 minutes until the butter and cream cheese are smooth and fluffy in texture.

2. Add sugar, vanilla and zest, blend for another 1-2 minutes until well combined and has thick spreadable consistency.

3. Spread the frosting on the cooled cake and decorate with extra chopped walnuts, dried orange slices and basil leaves.

4. Let it set in the fridge for 20-30 minutes and serve.

COOK'S NOTES:

• Remove the cake out of the mould or baking pan after leaving it to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. If you remove immediately, it will break and if you leave it too long in pan, the cake will sweat and will have a soggy crust.

• The cake should be completely cooled before frosting it.

#vegetarian #cake #baking #dessert #sweet #bakes #carrotcake #carrotorangecake #orangecake #baked #homebaked #creamcheesefrosting #spicedcarrotcake #carrot #orange #tea #teacake

CAMEL MILK PISTACHIO CAKE

A time for family gatherings and celebrations, November 18th commemorates the 369th anniversary of independence from Portugal.

This day also represents the National Day since Qaboos bin Said al Said’s rise to the throne of the Sultanate, as well as his birthday. During this trifecta of a holiday, you’ll see the red, white, and green of Oman’s flag waving freely. These colors have come to represent the geography of Oman in green, the Imamate leaders of the past in white, and the Sultanate itself in red.

Hence raised the toast in celebration of Sultanate’s big day by making a camel milk pistachio cake, keeping the colours of the Omani flag in mind. The cake was absolutely divine with a super soft texture, and drool-worthy, delicious cream cheese frosting.

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SERVES: 10-12 servings

PREP TIME: 10 minutes

BAKING TIME: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup unsalted pistachios, shelled

• 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder

• 1/2 tsp baking soda

• 3/4 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature

• 3 egg whites, room temperature

• 2 tbsp full cream labneh, room temperature

• 1/4 cup full fat Laban (buttermilk), room temperature

• 3/4 cup whole camel milk, room temperature

• 1 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract

• 3/4 tsp almond extract

• 1-2 drops of green food colouring (optional)

For Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 8 oz cream cheese (Philadelphia slab), room temperature

• 185g butter, room temperature

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 1/4 cup confectioners sugar

METHOD

1. Grease and line two 8” round baking tins with parchment paper.

2. Using pulse settings on your processor grind pistachios to a fine crumb. If you grind too much it will form into a pistachio spread. So be careful not to over blend.

3. In a bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, add ground pistachios reserving a tablespoon for garnishing later. Mix them well and keep aside.

4. Cream the butter and sugar in a handheld or stand mixer until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add egg whites and whisk on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. In a small bowl, using a hand whisk, whisk labneh and laban together to combine well. Add the laban mix, almond extract and vanilla extract to butter mix, and beat them together.

5. Now add half milk and half of the dry ingredients to the bowl and give a quick blend until combined. Add the rest of milk and dry ingredients and give a quick blend again until just combined altogether.

6. Pour the batter in the prepared pans and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 20 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean. Leave in pan for 10 minutes, take them out on wire rack to cool completely.

7. For cream cheese frosting, in a stand mixer bowl, cream butter and vanilla extract, until pale and creamy approximately 2 mins; add cream cheese and blend until smooth and combined well with butter. Add confectioners sugar and beat to thick and fluffy consistency, about 2-3 minutes.

8. Shave-off the bumps of the cakes to level them for layering, place one layer of cake on top of the cake stand or cake board, keeping the cut side up, add big dollops of cream cheese icing and level it with off-set knife, place the second layer of cake on top keeping cut side down and smooth side up. Spread the rest of icing on sides and top of the cake; decorate with reserved pistachio crumbs and fresh flowers if you wish.

COOK'S NOTES:

• Cow’s milk can be replaced in the recipe if you can get hold of the camel milk.

• Please use full fat milk for the soft and spongy texture of the cake.

#vegetarian #cake #baking #dessert #sweet #bakes #camelmilk #pistachio

GLUTEN-FREE EGGLESS BROWNIES

These rich, fudgy, gluten-free, egg-free and refined sugar-free Ragi (finger millet) brownies are guilt-free indulgent treats. Amazingly delicious and much more fudgy than the classical flour brownies. Experimenting with different ingredients and finding similar results of the traditional recipe could be challenging and chances are of failure in your first attempt, but to my surprise my first attempt was a great success. These are super fudgy and moist that your hand won’t stop at just one. I couldn’t resist myself from eating 4 slices in a row... yes you heard it right, “4 slices”!! Damn, they were simply irresistible, but was quiet complacent of the fact that I was digging into some guilt-free indulgence.

These gooey goodness are made with Ragi flour, also known as finger millet, an ancient grain which is a powerhouse of nutrition. It helps control diabetes, weight loss, reverse skin ageing, and a great source of protein and calcium too. Try these and you won’t go back to your traditional brownies. It’s baking time!

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YIELDS: 16

PREP TIME: 15 minutes

BAKING TIME: 30 minutes

PASSIVE TIME: 1 hour

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup ragi (finger millet) flour

• 1/2 cup oats flour

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt, room temperature

• 275g semi sweet chocolate chips

• 150g butter, cut into cubes

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup pecan nuts, chopped

For Frosting:

• 125g semi-sweet chocolate chips

• 3 tbsp sour cream, room temperature

For Sugar Glaze (Optional):

• 1/3 cup confectioners sugar

• 2-3 tsp milk

METHOD

1. Grease and line 8x8” square pan. Preheat oven at 180° C.

2. In a heatproof bowl melt chocolate and butter together over a double boiler until they are just melted, gently combine them with a spatula, and remove bowl from the double boiler.

3. Add sugar to the chocolate mix, combine with spatula, let it cool for 2 minutes. Add Greek yogurt and gently fold to combine well.

4. In a bowl, sieve ragi and oats flour and add half the quantity to the chocolate mix and gently fold them with a spatula. Add rest of the flours and fold to combine well. Add pecan nuts to the brownie batter and mix.

5. Now pour the batter in the prepared pan and bake it for 30-35 minutes. Let it cool in pan completely, transfer on a tray or chopping board, upside down.

To Make Frosting:

1. Melt chocolate in a bowl over a double boiler, as it melts remove from double boiler and add sour cream; mix gently with the help of a spatula until it’s well combined and glossy.

2. Let it cool down, about 5 minutes.

3. Pour over the brownie block and spread it with offset spatula. Let the frosting set for an hour and cut it into 16 squares and serve.

To Make Glaze:

1. To glaze the brownies, mix together confectioners sugar and milk and make like a stream dropping consistency, drizzle over the set frosted brownies.

COOK'S NOTES:

• Check if your oat flour is gluten free if you're intolerant as they can often be contaminated in factories (though oat flour is gluten free).

#vegetarian #brownies #eggless #baking #fudgy #dessert #sweet #bakes #glutenfree