Carrot Cakes and Chutney for May

Hi guys.

Welcome back!!! It's a new week again and we greet May wholeheartedly and happy. The sun shines, raindrops drizzle on our doorsteps and spring is in the air. The birds chirp, the bugs buzz around and an all around joy fills the day. Much has happened in the past few days, and while I wish I could show you all of it, sadly, I cannot. I mope around for my lost and stolen phone; keeper and guardian of my precious treasures, yes, all my recent pictures. So, I'll do my best to illustrate my creations and thank those kind souls who have shared my pictures with me. 

Last Monday, the gray sky promised bleak sunshine and I headed to the kitchen to begin my messy baking. I honestly think I don't make that much of a mess. My family has a whole different idea. Anyhow, I happily weighed ingredients and grated carrots for the fabulous carrot cake order. I paced myself nicely, until the time to frost the cake was upon me. I then learned I am boycotting a dairy products factory for their lack of quality nowadays. Not only does the butter have a rancid cheese smell, but the yummy tasting cream cheese they produce is not of the proper consistency. Luckily, the butter supplied by my aunt the day before is fantastic, albeit much more expensive and I managed one out of two. I had trouble masking the cake with frosting, as it was not a dense consistency. I had to place the cake in the freezer, only God knows how many times. In the end, the cake looked beautiful and thankfully, the frosting stayed put until cutting. 

Looks yummy, right?

I got amazing reviews on the fantastic carrot cake and I couldn't wait to make it again this past Saturday. But I am getting ahead of myself. Wednesday was International Worker's Day an as promised, I decided to make Mango Jam/Jelly/Marmalade. It's not the traditional, jelly like, stay's put, type of jam. It's packed-full of ripe mangoes and has less than half the sugar. Eight cups of pureed mangoes yielded only two big jars, which is more than enough for us at home. More than enough!!! Still, I wasn't satisfied with the mango cravings so Thursday, I went ahead and made chutney for the first time...ever. I am overjoyed to say that my first attempt at chutney making was a complete and utter success!!! My grandmother complained I sent her too small a jar. I haven't stopped eating it with my dinners. It just makes everything better. Friday was birthday cake day, and I made my way over to my mom's office to celebrate with a Vanilla Caramel Cake, of which you guys have the recipe. 

The too-small-a-jar I sent Grandma :)

The weekend was soon upon us and Saturday morning, there I was, baking another carrot cake. This time, I doubled the recipe, used a different recipe for the cream cheese frosting and...carved the massive cake into a small Hello Kitty face. It looked awesome. I filled the cake, applied a rather thick crumb coat and then came the tricky part. Shortly before the crumb coat, I rolled out the necessary fondant needed to cover the cake completely. It wasn't the first time, nor will it be the last, but I have to admit, it was a disaster. It was my first cake, with an abstract form, that required fondant. I carefully unrolled the fondant over the cake and while attempting to smooth it out nicely, it stretched and teared near one the kitty's ears. My extremely feeble undertaking to smooth it out, resulted in a gooey like plaster that eventually dried out. There wasn't anything to be done and so I made the best of it. I tinted a small bit with yellow, another with black (which resulted in a light grey) and a bigger part in a baby pink. These made up the lovely button nose, the eyes and whiskers and the pink fondant became the beautiful Hello Kitty trademark bow. I then lined the bottom border with uneven and different sized pink fondant pellets. I heard the birthday girl did not want the cake cut and even got mad when the cake got stuffed with candles. I laughed, and I am certainly glad the cake did not disappoint.

The final look. It looked so pretty!!!

Sunday morning, at 6:00 a.m., I found myself volunteering for Operation Smile's Racing for Smiles event, which garnered hundreds of runners, helping race funds for the organization's work. It was all going well and great until it came for us to leave. It was then I found out my phone was lost. Yup...in all the excitement and crushing crowds, my phone made its way into another person's hands. The time to weep for its dejected absence is over and I shall make do by cooking up a delicious batch of apple-pear chutney. In the meantime, I leave you with two tasty recipes I hope you try out!!!

Until next time.

xx

Carrot Cake

Adapted from Epicurious

I'd offer you another picture, but sadly
my lost phone had them all

Ingredients

Cake

2 C. sugar

1 C. canola oil

4 large eggs

2 C. all purpose flour

2 t. baking soda

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. ground ginger

1/2 t. salt

4 C. grated, peeled carrots

1 C. walnuts, chopped

Frosting**

12 oz. cream cheese, softened

3/4 C. butter, softened

2 T. maple syrup

1/4 t. ground cinnamon

4 1/2 C. confectioner's sugar

Preparation:

Cake:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, oil and eggs in large bowl until well blended. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt; beat until blended. Stir in carrots and walnuts. Divide batter between pans.

Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 32 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on rack 15 minutes. Run small knife between pan sides and cakes to loosen. Turn cakes out onto racks; cool completely.

Frosting:

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and butter using an electric mixer at medium-high speed until fluffy.

Reduce speed to medium-low and add maple syrup and cinnamon.

Gradually mix in confectioner's sugar, beating until smooth.

*Make sure you use a quality cream cheese. I suggest Philadelphia.

**Original Recipe from Fort Mill SC Living

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Mango Chutney

Adapted from Epicurious

Same goes for this picture

Ingredients:

3 medium apples, peeled, cored, and chopped

3 medium/large mangoes, peeled and chopped

1/2 medium sweet red pepper, chopped

1 C. granulated sugar

1/2 C. brown sugar, packed

3/4 C. finely chopped onion

1/2 C. raisins

1/2 C. apple cider vinegar

1/4 C. finely chopped peeled gingerroot

1 T. lemon juice

1 t. curry powder

1 t. garam masala

1/2 t. each: ground nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt

Preparation:

Combine apples, mangoes, red pepper, sugar, onion, raisins, vinegar, and gingerroot in a large stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat, and boil gently, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until fruit is tender and mixture is thickened, stirring occasionally. Add lemon juice, curry powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt; boil gently for 5 minutes.

*For storing, either proceed with the canning procedure (filling hot jars, simmering them and sealing them) or use the old school method. Sterilize clean jars by boiling them thoroughly and allowing them to dry. Fill the jars with the cooled chutney and refrigerate. The canning procedure allows the longest shelf life, however the old school method works fine.