I’m so excited! My mother arrived last week to be with me and her beloved grandson’s. It’s been two years since I last saw her so it’s just a relief to have her here for Mother’s Day.
And although we Skype and call and Whatsapp all the time, nothing can beat a cup of tea and a chat over a plate of something decadent, to really appreciate mother and daughter time TOGETHER!
My mother has always been a very keen and accomplished baker. We used to live miles and miles away from the closest tiny towns so our ‘entertainment’ was not going to a malls and movies or restaurants as there simply weren’t any around. No, our entertainment was ripping out recipes out of magazines and sticking them into our recipe folder. Or pouring over recipe books booked out from the library (no google search in those days lol)
We also grew most of our own vegetables and produce so there were always fresh eggs, fruit and ridiculously good milk from our cows. We used to have a stainless steel milk separator which would spin off the rich and delectably thick cream either to be used on scones, churned into butter, or baked into cakes and cookies.
Oh the sweet memories!
Carrot cake was always a firm favourite, and although I’ve adapted this to be a little more glamorous essentially it’s just a jolly fabulous carrot cake!
Enjoy!
Beat together
185g softened butter with 3/4 cup brown sugar in a mixer until light and fluffy, and until the sugar is dissolved.
Add 5 ml Vanilla Extract or Paste and 2 eggs and mix together.
Grate 2 medium sized purple carrots, you can use normal carrots here if you wish, into the mixture. Sieve in 1 cup self raising flour and 1/2 a teaspoon EACH of cinnamon, mixed spice or ras el hanout, and also 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda and 1 cup of pecans and/or pistachios. Mix together until combined and then pour into a greased cake or loaf tin. Bake in a pre-heated oven of 170c for about 20-25 minutes until the cake is cooked, test with a skewer like they do in the movies lol!
Allow to cool. While the cake is cooling you can whip up this delicious but ridiculously easy icing!
Take 1 small tub ricotta or cream cheese and into it add 2 tablespoons icing mixture, about 2 ml vanilla paste and the juice and zest of one lime. Mix well and then dollop this onto the cake! I cut the cake into portions first and arranged them on a platter before decorating each square with a dollop of the sweetened ricotta and a gorgeous little organic rose bud (available from my online store or at your local Indian spice shop)
Enjoy and let me know what you think!