Carrot Cake, Take 2 aka SUCCESS!!!

Summer Carrot Muffins

After yesterday's dismal results, I hit the books in search of a recipe to better my first and found Stephan Franz's simple and summery Apricot Muffins, from one of my all time dependable cook book, The Cook's Book. I modified his recipe for 2 reasons: a. I hate apricots, and 2. I was on my carroty quest. So I present my formula below:

250g (8.5 oz) carrots, shredded and pat dry
100ml (3.5 fl oz) carrot or orange juice
375g (13oz) flour
4t baking powder
125g (4.5oz) unsalted butter
125g (4.5oz) sugar
Pinch of salt
2 eggs
250ml (8.5 fl oz) plain yogurt
Grated zest of 1 orange or lime

1. Soak carrots in juice for 3 hours
2. Sift flour & baking powder, set aside
3. Beat butter, sugar, salt until light & fluffy, add eggs & beat well
4. Add yogurt, zest & drained carrots to the party
5. Gently introduce the flour & mix briefly
   
6. Spoon into greased muffin tins
7. Bake at 180'C (350"F) for 25 minutes or well rised & golden
8. Bring them to the park (above) or zoo (below) & take some lovely pics for the family album

As I don't fancy oranges much, I've used lime zest instead to give the muffins a lively background, and baked them in mini tins rather than jumbo sized ones, but it is your preference, just tweak the baking time accordingly.

I'm pleased with the results, the muffins were light and not too sweet. Soaking the carrots in carrot juice enhanced their inherent flavor which is usually lost in many carrot muffins, and they added an orange hue to the overall results. Lovely!

Carrot cake, Take 1

Arty Farty Carrot Cake

Fancy Smancy Close Up

I have a thing for Carrot Cake, and in my inexhaustible quest for the ultimate CC, I have tasted bakes from far and wide. This week, I thought to give it a go, who knows, the treasure may be in my own backyard all along?

Nope, keep digging. I shan't put the recipe up, it is good but not perfect. I will not yield, nor will I falter. No! I will give it another go tomorrow, for I do not believe I messed up my backyard (aka kitchen) for naught.

Good thing they make good pictures, that should count for some pride redeemed.

Salmon Sashimi, by Master Chef Mum

Salmon Sashimi, Yusheng Style

If ever pressed to name my fav food, the answer would be 3 pronged:

Fav Food: Salmon Sashimi. I moan in shameless ecstasy every time a thick orange slab of the oh so meltingly buttery fish swims into my mouth. Oh gawd, pure joy.

Fav Cuisine: Indian. More specifically, North Indian Vegetarian. No fight. But that's another blog.

Food I'd gladly give up the world for: My Mum's cooking.

I must thank my lucky stars, for I can have 2 of my top 3 foods at one go. My mum makes the best salmon sashimi (not to mention the cheapest since I don't have to fork out a fortune to dine in exclusive Japanese restaurants). She also makes a mean yusheng, way way waaayy better than the ones you can find anywhere.

What peeved me here is not her heavenly bestowed culinary flair, of my lack thereof. While I can take forever to capture food at their most photogenic display of texture, color and shape, Mum the Great simply throws a bunch of key ingredients together: a sprinkle of this, a splash of that, a toss of some other, and Viola! Art on a plate! And 2 seconds to snap.

Without further ado, I present Mum's masterpiece for your viewing, and my eventual devouring pleasure.