The best Carrot Cake

 

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

 

This recipe makes a gorgeous Carrot Cake and is much better than the Rachel Allen one I made! Steve’s Mum declared it the best Carrot Cake she’s ever tasted (and she’s quite the expert!), hence the rather arrogant title! The texture is moist and light, plus the walnuts give a nice crunch.

 

It’s such a simple cake to make and doesn’t require much effort as it’s made with oil, so there’s no creaming of butter and sugar necessary.

 

I don’t like coconut, but you can’t taste it in the cake and it gives it a better texture, so it’s worth adding. The walnuts are optional of course, but we had some knocking around the house as Steve’s Mum always buys the ones in their shell for Christmas and they never get eaten unless I use them in baking!

 

 

There was a bit of a debate in the house about which icing people preferred, so I covered half with a simple buttercream (Steve’s choice) and half with a runny royal icing (Steve’s Mum’s and my choice) as we had some leftover from last week’s birthday cake decorating.

 

• Oven temperature: Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C
• Oven shelf: middle
• You will need: a greased and lined 8 inch square tin

 

Ingredients:

• 150ml (¼ pint) sunflower oil
• 100g (4oz) light soft brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 75g (3oz) golden syrup
• 175g (6oz) self raising flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 100g (4oz) carrots, grated (approx. 1 med-large sized carrot)
• 25g (1oz) desiccated coconut
• ½ Tablespoon walnuts, chopped

 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C.
2. Whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs and golden syrup using an electric hand mixer.
3. Add the flour, spices, bicarbonate of soda, carrots, coconut and walnuts and gently fold into the mixture with a spoon until well incorporated. Don’t overmix as this will make the cake heavy.
4. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes. A skewer inserted should come out clean. If it’s not done yet, return to the oven for another 5-10 minutes. If the cake is getting too brown then lightly cover with a sheet of foil.
5. Cool in the tin for about 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before icing.

 

To make the buttercream icing for half the cake: Beat 25g (1oz) soft butter until pale and creamy. Add 100g (4oz) of sifted icing sugar and just enough milk to create a soft and fluffy icing. Beat well then spread on top of the cooled carrot cake.

 

COOK’S NOTES:

• You can freeze the cake un-iced

Carrot and Lentil Soup

 

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

 

I really fancied a nice warming soup and bread rolls for lunch today, so I gathered a few soup recipes together and took the best bits of each one and came up with this one. The bread rolls were made from a packet mix that Steve’s Mum bought ages ago and has been hanging around the back of the cupboard for ages! It was actually a couple of months out of date, but it still worked fine. The packet mix was Parmesan and Sun Dried Tomato by Wrights and it smelt so delicious baking in the oven that even Steve’s Mum tried some (but then she promptly spat it out because it contains garlic and she’s a very fussy eater!).

 

I had good feedback on the soup though, however it was a little bit spicy even though I was so careful not to add too much chilli (these were homemade chilli flakes from my chilli plants a couple of years ago and they were HOT!).

 

Ingredients:

• 100g split red lentils
• 2 pints chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 Tablespoons oil
• 2 rashers bacon, chopped (omit to make this veggie friendly)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• small pinch dried chilli flakes
• 4 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

 

Directions:

1. Rinse the lentils and put into a saucepan with the stock. Simmer for 10 minutes until just tender.
2. Meanwhile, heat the oil in another saucepan and add the bacon and fry for a few minutes. Add the onions and sauté for about 5 minutes until soft.
3. Add the garlic, cumin and chilli and fry for another minute until fragrant, then add the carrots and the lentils.
4. Half cover with a lid and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the carrots are tender. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
5. Leave to cool for a few minutes and then blend with a stick blender or liquidiser until smooth.

 

COOK’S NOTES:

• You can make croutons from any stale leftover bread/rolls. Just cut them into cubes and fry in a couple of Tablespoons of oil until they are golden brown and crispy. I made some from a leftover Parmesan and Sun Dried Tomato roll and they were the tastiest croutons ever!

Lancashire Hotpot

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

This is such a simple dish with few ingredients, but it tastes absolutely amazing. The lamb is meltingly tender and the carrots and onions give a lovely sweetness to the gravy. I can’t take the credit for the original recipe as it’s James Martins’, but I have made it a bit healthier by not using dripping and I left out the kidneys as I don’t like them! The recipe I’ve written is basically half the original, as I only wanted to cook for 2 people.

I’ve made this a couple of times and I really recommend using a mandolin slicer to cut the potatoes so that they are really thin and cook evenly.

I started off the cooking in a large saucepan and then transferred everything to an ovenproof dish, but ideally you want to use a flameproof casserole dish to retain all the flavours.

• Serves: 2
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 3/325°F/170°C
• You will need: a shallow flame & ovenproof dish

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 450g stewing lamb, cut into large chunks (I used shoulder)
• 1 medium onions, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 Tablespoon plain flour
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 250ml lamb or chicken stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 400g potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
• 25g melted butter

Directions:

1. Heat oven to Gas mark 3/325°F/170°C. Heat the tablespoon of oil in a flameproof casserole dish or in a large saucepan. Add the lamb and brown (if cooking a large amount then do this in batches), then put onto a plate and set aside.
2. Fry the onions and carrots in the pan with until golden. Add some salt and pepper at this point. Sprinkle over the flour, allow to cook for a couple of mins, shake over the Worcestershire sauce, pour in the stock, then bring to the boil. Stir in the lamb and bay leaf, then turn off the heat. If you’ve used a saucepan then put the stew mixture into an ovenproof dish, then arrange the sliced potatoes on top of the meat, then drizzle with the melted butter. Cover, then place in the oven for about 1½ hrs until the potatoes are cooked.
3. Remove the lid, brush the potatoes with a little more melted butter, then turn the oven up to maximum heat to brown the potatoes (could take up to 30 mins), or finish under the grill for 5-8 mins until brown.

Gordon Ramsay's Shepherds Pie

MUNCH RATING: 3/5

This is Gordon Ramsay’s recipe and even though I can’t stand him, I decided to try his recipe as I’d only heard good things about it. The meaty filling was very tasty due to the red wine, but we thought there wasn’t enough of it compared to the amount of potato, although I didn’t really mind because I love potatoes!

I thought it was strange that the mash didn’t have milk added to it, but egg yolks instead. Also, the ingredients stated 50g butter and olive oil, but they weren’t included in the method, so I just added the butter to the mash anyway because good mash NEEDS butter! I didn’t have any parmesan so I just used mature cheddar cheese instead and it was still pretty tasty.

I would use this recipe again for the filling, but next time I’ll make the mash my usual way by adding milk and leave out the egg yolks.

• Serves: 4
• Oven temperature: Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C
• You will need: a large frying pan, a large ovenproof dish

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 500g minced lean lamb
• 1 large onion, finely grated
• 1 large carrot, finely grated
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1-2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• Handful of thyme sprigs, leaves picked
• 1 sprig of rosemary, needles chopped
• 250ml red wine (I used Cabernet Sauvignon)
• 300ml chicken stock
• 1kg Desiree potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
• 50g butter
• 2 egg yolks
• Parmesan, for grating (I used mature cheddar cheese)
• Olive oil (er, optional?)
• Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to Gas mark 4/350°F/180°C.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan until hot. Season the mince and fry in the oil over moderate to high heat for 2-3 minutes. Stir the onions and carrot into the mince then grate the garlic in as well. Add the Worcestershire sauce, tomato puree and herbs and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour in the red wine and reduce until almost completely evaporated. Add the chicken stock, bring to the boil and simmer until the sauce has thickened.
3. Meanwhile, cook the potatoes in boiling salted water until tender. Drain then return to the hot pan over low heat to dry out briefly. Pass them through a potato ricer then beat in the egg yolks and butter, followed by about 2 tbsp grated Parmesan. Check for seasoning.
4. Spoon the mince into the bottom of a large ovenproof dish. Using a large spoon, layer the mashed potato generously on top of the mince, starting from the outside and working your way into the middle. Grate some extra Parmesan over and season. Fluff up the mash potato with a fork to make rough peaks. Bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes, until bubbling and golden brown.

* The dish I used was one of my new Pyrex Pyroflam casserole dishes. I used the 1 litre one, which measures 6.8cm deep x 16cm diameter, as I wanted to make a pie that served 2 people so I filled it with half the mince and half the mash. With the other half I refilled the dish after we’d eaten and put it in the freezer for another time.

I defrosted the frozen shepherd’s pie and then reheated it in the oven at Gas 6 for about 40 minutes. I had some leftover hollandaise sauce that I’d made and I thought it would be a good idea to mix it in with the mashed potato topping, because the sauce is just butter and egg yolks. Steve wasn’t keen on the idea, so I scraped off only half the potato topping and mixed it with a generous Tablespoon of the sauce. It looked pretty disgusting after I’d mixed it with the potato and then spread it back onto the mince mixture, but I covered all the potato with some mature cheddar and after 40 minutes in the oven it looked amazing! The half that had the hollandaise sauce in had turned a lovely golden brown and it was a lot tastier than the half that didn’t have the sauce added. I love it when a plan comes together! I have to say, that Steve and I both thought the shepherds pie tasted better reheated, as if the flavours had developed more over time.

Check out my hollandaise sauce recipe here.

Carrot and Coriander Soup

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

This soup has a lovely creamy texture, but without the cream so it’s good for you! I have a real aversion to coriander leaf, but strangely I don't mind coriander seeds which does add a nice flavour and compliments the carrots. You could use ground coriander, but I like the lemony fragrance of the seeds and it’s fun to smash them to smithereens!

This made enough for about 5-6 servings.

Ingredients:

• 25g (1oz) butter
• 1 Tablespoon crushed coriander seeds
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 rashers of lean bacon, cut into pieces
• 454g (1lb) carrots, sliced
• 25g (1oz) long grain rice
• 1.2 litres (2 pints) vegetable stock (I just used Knorr Stock pots)
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the onion, bacon and coriander seeds and cook over a gentle heat until the onions are soft - do not allow them to brown and if necessary half cover the pot with a lid. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
2. Add the carrots, rice, stock and seasoning. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes or until the carrots are tender.
3. Liquidise the soup until smooth, return to the saucepan and reheat if necessary.

COOK'S NOTES:

• Dry fry the coriander seeds to intensify their flavour and make them easier to grind.

Winter Vegetable Soup

MUNCH RATING: 5/5

I used a recipe for Sweet Potato & Carrot Soup from the BBC Good Food magazine as a basic template and I added butternut squash, cumin and chili powder as I really like those flavours. I got lots of compliments for this soup as it has a velvety smooth creamy texture and lots of lovely sweet flavours from the different root vegetables. Steve's Dad even said it was better than New Covent Garden soups! This is only the second soup I've ever made in my life, but it's definitely one I'll be making again.

• Serves: 4
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• You will need: a large pan with a lid

Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
• 1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
• 1 heaped teaspoon cumin powder
• ¼ teaspoon chili powder
• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
• ½ medium butternut squash, peeled and diced
• 2 knobs butter
• 300-400ml stock (I used vegetable Marigold Swiss Vegetable Bouillon)
• Salt and Pepper

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan on a low-medium heat and fry the onions, garlic, cumin and chilli powder for 8-10 minutes until softened.
2. Add the sweet potatoes, carrots, butternut squash and the butter. Season well with salt and pepper. Cover the pan and let the vegetables sweat down until they start to soften, for about 20 minutes.
3. Add enough stock to cover all the vegetables and bring to the boil. Cover the pan and simmer for 20-25 minutes until the vegetables are really tender.
4. Tip the soup into a blender or use a stick blender to whizz up the soup until it is really smooth, for about 5 minutes.
5. Transfer to warm bowls and serve with lots of nice bread.