Category: Cake

Cheesecake – impressive dessert and easy to make – a great party trick recipe.

Carrot cake takes misuse of vegetables to new heights. Carrots, a starchy questionable vegetable to start with, become the foundation of sweet rich lovely textured cake in this recipe from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking. If you’re interested in carrots as a vegetable, try and find heritage carrots – before the Dutch made them orange and sweet. But we’re going to make them unhealthy, so the ordinary supermarket carrots are fine.

Carrot cake is a favourite wherever you take it. If I’m transporting the cake, I over bake it slightly. It changes the texture to more chewy but it’s just as tasty. You can make a vegan version of this cake as well – substitutions are below.

My recipe calls for nuts, coconut and raisins – these can all be omitted, none are essential to the structure of the cake. If you make the classic cream cheese icing, I suggest using Philadelphia Cream Cheese. I’m not a fan of American processed food but Philly has some magic ingredients that keeps the icing from getting lumpy.

No specialist equipment is required for this recipe but a mini chopper or a food processor is highly recommended for the carrots. For the best texture, I suggest fine grating the carrots. Smaller pieces makes the cake cut better.

I bake this recipe as a sheet cake in two square cake pans: 15 cms (6 inches) by 15 cms (bake for 45 mins) It also makes 2 x 23 cm (9 inch) round layers (bake for 40 mins) or a 33 cm (13 inch) by 23 cm (9 inch) sheet or single layer cake (bake for 45 mins). I line pans with parchment paper or pre-cut parchment liners – I never grease pans.

Bake away.

Recipe

Cake

• 4 large eggs
• 295 grams (10.5 ounces) of vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 295 grams (10.5 ounces) caster (white) sugar
• 90 grams (3.25 ounces) brown sugar
• 225 grams (8 ounces) whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 250 grams (8.75 ounces) finely grated carrot
• 100 grams (3.75 ounces) pecans or walnuts, chopped
• 85 grams (3 ounces) shredded or flaked coconut
• 340 grams (12 ounces) raisins

Cream cheese icing

• 85 grams (3 ounces) unsalted butter, softened, at room temperature
• 225 grams (8 ounces) Philadelphia cream cheese, softened, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 450 (1 lb) icing (confectioners) sugar, sifted
• 90 grams (3.25 ounces) chopped candied ginger (optional)
• 110 grams (4 ounces) chopped nuts, walnuts or pecans

Vegan option: use 260 grams of unsweetened applesauce instead of the eggs in the cake. Try this recipe for vegan vanilla icing.

Instructions

1. Prep your pan or pans. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Grate the carrots. Chop the nuts. Combine all in a bowl and put to one side (stir ins).
3. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices in a separate bowl (dry ingredients).
4. Beat the eggs (or applesauce) in the mixing bowl of your stand mixer. Add the oil while the mixer is running. Add the vanilla and the sugars and beat until smooth.
5. Mix the dry ingredients into the batter until well combined. Don’t over beat.
6. Add the stir ins. Scoop batter into prepared pans.
7. Bake for the amount of time appropriate to the pan size. Use a toothpick to test, if it comes out clean the cake is done. Cool on a rack when done, then dust with confectioners sugar or use the cream cheese icing. Decorate the top with ginger or nuts.

I hope you enjoy the blog. Please ask questions and send comments. If you bake any of the recipes, please post a photo and tag @mamadolson on Instagram or Twitter.

My homage to Paul Simon, folks.  This blog post does not have 50 recipes for your courgettes (neither does the song list the 50 ways) but it should help you use your produce.

 What is it about courgettes that make them so prolific? They must be hardy enough to resist ambivalent (and lazy) gardeners (like me).  My first year, I put in six, yes six courgette plants.  OMG – did we have a lot of courgettes.  Now I plant three.  Some bit of ancient vegetable growing wisdom I have retained says three is the minimum number for pollination purposes.   Even three produce a lot of courgettes most years.

I really hate to throw away food I grew myself.  I have therefore accumulated a number of ways to prepare, preserve and eat courgettes.

 Here’s my round up of ideas and some specific recipes to make eating courgettes a joy not a chore. Hopefully, something for everyone. All of these recipes I’ve test cooked and the Davinator has eaten. 

1.  KISS – keep it simple, spiralize.  A spiralizer (many choices for less than £10 on Amazon) turns your vegetables into noodles.  Sautéed in butter, added to soups, salads and stir fry. Cover them with your favourite pasta sauce.  This is super use of the squash, especially when you harvest early and don’t let them turn into seed filled giants.
   
2. Just eat your vegetables.  Slice into 5 millimetre pieces, then chop in half.  Cook in boiling water or steam for 2 to 5 minutes depending on size and your preferences on the texture of your vegetables.  Alternatively, cut 1 inch slices and quarter these. Sauté in butter with a few chilli flakes and salt and peppel. Divine.
   
3. Get your revenge in first.  Make fried-courgette flowers.  Pick the flowers on stems (will never be courgettes) or small courgettes when the flowers are still attached.  You can either fry the flowers with the small courgettes attached or separate them and cook them separately.   Recipe link here: <fried courgette blossoms>
    
4. Use your weapon of mass consumption.  There’s nothing like chutney to use up large and diverse amounts of fruit and vegetables.  Sugar, vinegar, spices, onions and then a squash, a vegetable and a fruit component.  Here’s my recipe – <courgette chutney>.
   
5. Do it doughnut style.  Baked chocolate courgette doughnuts are about the healthiest doughnuts you can make and eat.  Of course, ‘healthiest’ doughnuts maybe a low bar but this recipe produces crowd pleasing treats – <chocolate courgette doughnuts>.
   
6. Put summer in a jar.  Courgette marmalade with ginger and lemon tastes like summer when you open it in November or gift it to good friends at Christmas time. This is not a recipe for newbies to making jam and marmalade but if you’re not intimidated by boiling sugar go for it.  Link here:  <spiced courgette marmalade>.
   
7. Hide the vegetables by burying them in deep dark chocolate cake. It’s all in the name.  This is a favourite of family, friends and co-workers.  So rich, it doesn’t need any icing or topping but you can go wild and slather it in whipped cream.  Link here. <deep dark chocolate cake>.
   
8. Pixar it up. One of my favourite Pixar movies is Ratatouille.  And you don’t have to be a Parisian rat to make awesome ratatouille.  Most cooks have a favourite recipe but ratatouille is very flexible. The core ingredients are courgette, aubergine, tomatoes and peppers.  Here’s a basic recipe that uses canned tomatoes but if you’ve got a glut go ahead and use them.  I would peel and core the tomatoes if you’re using fresh.  Link here: easy and flexible ratatouille.
   
9. Quickly now. Make quick whole wheat courgette bread.  It’s simple and quick and makes a good on the go breakfast treat. Link here: <whole wheat courgette bread>.
   
10. Round up……. Time to use your imagination and Google: courgette fritters, courgette terrine, courgette soup, tomato courgette spaghetti sauce.  Frittata with courgettes is one of my favourites. Link here: < frittata with courgettes>
    
11. Soup it up. Here’s the best courgette soup recipe I’ve found.
    
12. Get grilling. This is my new favourite grilled vegetable recipe.
    
13. Courgette and herb pilaf, you’ll never notice the courgettes.

Hopefully, these recipes will help you mop up the courgette tsunami and dig out from under the zucchini avalanche.  Thank you for reading the blog.   Please send comments, suggestions and requests.

Dark delicious chocolate courgette loaf cake.