Carrot Cake for 35 people

What a FAB and GROOVY 60th Birthday I had. It was themed The Sixties. Everyone came in sixties dress, we had sixties music and as close as possible sixties food. The cake was Carrot cake, first started in the sixties by the vegetarian hippies. (I didn't know that)
I did one large cake that would feed 35 people and 24 cupcakes.
This was the first time I have made such a large cake, and was really worried about the centre cooking and rising as it should, so used a new product to me called a cake core, made by Wilton, which you place in the middle of the tin with the cake batter in it and around it. Cooks very evenly and simple to use.

Find the cupcake recipe in my *labels*Ingredients...
2 2/3 cups S.R. Flour (sifted)
2 2/3 cups Plain Flour (sifted)
4 1/4 teasp Ground Cinnamon.
2 3/4 teasp Ground Ginger.
1 1/2 teasp Ground Nutmeg.
2 teasp Bicarbonate of Soda.
475 ml Rice Bran Oil.
2 1/2 cups Brown Sugar.
8 Eggs.
3/4 cup Golden Syrup or Honey.
1.1 kilos finely Grated Carrot.
2 cups Sultanas.
1 cup finely chopped Walnuts.


Preheat oven to 180c and grease and line a 30 cm/12 inch tin.
Sift together in a large bowl, the first 6 ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon. Make well in centre and set aside.
In another bowl, mix the oil, sugar, eggs, golden syrup.
Pour in to the flour bowl and stir in well.
Now fold in the rest of the ingredients and pour in to the prepared tin.
Place in centre of the oven and cook for 2 hours and 30 minutes. (Mine didn't take that long because I used the WILTON CAKE CORE) So keep checking yours every half an hour, we don't want it to burn now do we?
For the icing, I used Philli cream cheese, a little butter, vanilla extract and icing sugar.
This cake will store well in an air tight container for up to a week (I did this and iced it the day before required) or will freeze for up to 2 months.

Rich Fruit Cake.

It was hubby's birthday recently (his 66th) and he's my little devil, hence the devil's horn's on the cake. His other love apart from food is whisky, so not wanting to use a really good one for this cake, I choose BLACK DOUGLAS, THE BLACK, RESERVE 12 year old whisky. Although very nice in itself, he tells me.
Can't bare the smell of it, so this really was a labour of love. The recipe was given to me by Brenda from http://teandwheatenbread.blogspot.com/ and I made a few changes to it as there was a couple of fruits we didn't like. As long as you have the right measures in the end, you can do the same. The original recipe uses brandy or rum, as you see, I used WHISKY.
Ingredients....
3 cups Sultanas.
1 1/2 cups Raisins (chopped)
1/2 cup Currants.
1/2 cup Pitted Prunes (chopped)
2/3 cup Glace Cherries (halved)
3 tablespoons good dark Marmalade.
1 cup WHISKY. (and more for later)
250g Butter.
1 Orange (zest only)
1 Lemon (zest only)
1 cup Dark Brown Sugar.
4 Eggs.
2 cups Plain Flour.
2 tsp. Mixed Spice.
Method....
Line a deep 23cm round or deep 19cm square cake tin with 2 layers of baking paper. Bring paper 5cm above edge of pan.
Combine fruit, marmalade and whisky in a large bowl, mix well with a wooden spoon and leave to stand over night.
Beat butter and zests in a small bowl with electric mixer, add sugar, beat until combined. Add eggs one at a time, beating only until combined between additions.
Stir creamed mix in to the fruit mix. Mix in sifted dry ingredients until all combined
Spread the cake mix in to the prepared tin.
Bake in a slow oven 125c for 3 and 1/2 hours.
HINT..... I wrapped the outside of my tin in double foil to protect it from burning.
When the cake is cooked, turn off the oven, pierce the cake with a skewer in several places, pour more WHISKY over the cake and top with Golden Castor Sugar. Place back in to the oven and leave over night again. This gives it a lovely crunchy crust. See below for the cut cake.

ENJOY!

May Birthdays

Happy birthday to Pink Bytes. It has been 1 year already, since the girls of Violet's Pantry persuaded me to start a blog. Being a two finger, search and peck typer, each post I do takes me ages, but I am getting quicker. Just wish those keys on the keyboard would stay in the same place. Ha Ha.

A special THANK YOU should go to a few Food Porn sites I am a member of. TasteSpotting, FoodGawker, RecipeMuncher, Food Photography and Serious Eats. All these sites and a few more can be found in my side bar. And also a BIG Thank you must go to Ron of The Merlin Menu for showing me the light, pun intended ha ha. See post on Light box.

And a special THANK YOU goes to YOU, my visitors, my supporters, my followers. I love reading the comments you leave.

20th of May is my Dad's Birthday. A special Dad indeed, a chosen Dad in fact.(Too long a story to go into here, but glad he came in to our lives) A truly lovely man who is there for you any time with loving advice and support. HAPPY BIRTHDAY M.

And I have left the best to last. My dear cyber friend B. has her birthday on the 28th of May. She has given me encouragement and support over a few years now, she writes the blog TEA and Wheaten Bread (also in my side bar) Please go and visit her, for some delish recipes for scones, breads and cakes. Thank you B. And HAPPY BIRTHDAY.

The first 3 pictures were obtained from Google images (Thank you)

Birthday cake for Moi.

It's still very hot here in N.S.W. and I certainly wasn't going to put the oven on to make my own birthday cake, however, if my birthday was in the cooler months, I would have. So...
The TIRAMISU cake was got from *THE CHEESECAKE SHOP*. And was meant to serve 16 people, but this was so delicious, it is almost gone and only 5 people have had some. Yes, they were BIG serves. I had mine with a glass of Tia Maria on ice. Went with it very well indeed.
Happy birthday to me, YAY.

Another son, another birthday cake.

The same simple chocolate cake, which you can find here http://pinkbytes.blogspot.com/2008/11/birthday-cake.html but this time, I sandwiched the two layers together with Nutella. (Second sons' favorite sandwich filling) and then made a Carob butter icing and spread that over the top, and dressed it with Maltesers.
Thankfully, every one in my home loves all types of chocolate, including the two dogs.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NUMBER TWO SON.

The birthday cake.

As promised on the 30th October, the birthday cake.
Inspiration for this came from Vicky over on http://ahealthyappetite.blogspot.com
Vicky had made a Simple Chocolate Cake that she used from http://www.easylivingmagazine.com/Food/Recipes/ChocolateCake/Default.aspx

I doubled all ingredients and used butter not margarine.



Here is the original recipe.

175g (6oz) margarine or softened butter
175g (6oz) caster sugar
3 large eggs
150g (5oz) self-raising flour, sifted
50g (1¾oz) of cocoa, sifted
1tsp baking powder
1tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt



For simple chocolate icing
100g (3½oz) of dark chocolate
100g (3½oz) of chopped butter


1. Heat the oven to 180C (gas mark 4). Lightly grease an 18cm (7in) round cake tin with a little extra butter or margarine and cut a piece of greaseproof paper or non-stick baking parchment to fit the base of the tin. I greased mine with butter and then sprinkled cocoa powder into it to give it a nice chocolaty edge.
2. Put all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and beat with a wooden spoon or a hand-held mixer for 1 minute, or until just combined. It's important not to beat the batter too much just long enough to make it smooth.
3. Pour or spoon the mixture into the tin, smooth the top and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for about 45-50 minutes. The cake is cooked when it looks well risen and golden; the top should spring back when lightly touched with a fingertip. Another test is to insert a skewer into the centre of the cake - it should come out clean.
4. Let the cake sit in the tin for 5 minutes, then gently run a knife around the edge and turn the cake out onto a wire rack to cool.



Because I doubled everything, I used a bigger tin (24cm or 9 inches) and made 10 cupcakes as well. The cupcakes of course, cooked in 20 minutes and the cake took 50 minutes.

For the icing, I wanted something a little bit special, so I sort of made it up as I went.

I bar of Lindt (80% cocoa) milk chocolate.
200gms of softened butter.
3 cups (maybe more) Icing sugar (sifted)
A good slurp or two of Tia Maria.

Melt chocolate over simmering water on stove. Soften butter in microwave, pour chocolate into the butter and add the icing sugar, mix well. This is where you add the Tia Maria too loosen it a little. (If needed) If not, drink the Tia Maria. (HIC)

Spread on to the cooled cake.

I then melted dark Lindt chocolate and dipped the strawberries in, to decorate the cake. (And cupcakes)
Opppps!! I forgot to say. I cut the cake, once cooled and spread strawberry jam to sandwich the two together. (Use a good quality jam with whole strawberries in)
Chocolate and strawberries together, my son's two favorite foods.

Happy Birthday to Charles

A very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dear son CHARLES. 32 years old today.
Chocolate sponge cake sandwiched together with strawberry jam, with a Tia Maria and Lindt chocolate fudge icing, and decorated with strawberries dipped in yet more Lindt chocolate.

A little too much mix was made for the tin used, so knocked up some cupcakes to give to the young children.

I promise to put the recipe up later, but just wanted to get this done for now, on his birth day.

Truely amazing Birthday Cake.

All the credit goes to the lady who made this cake.

Emmcee (Gail) from the great blog called....

http://vipantrywedonthaveablogblog.blogspot.com/

It is her Birthday on the 4th of September and she made this cake to celebrate the fact.

She says she is not a professional, but looking at that cake and others she has done, it's hard not to believe her.

Please go and see her blog, and look at the others she has made. The *BOOB* cake made for her father's birthday is amazing too.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAIL.

Am leaving the type black here so the picture really speaks for itself.