Pretty Cake

The best cake for the family, healthy and not using any dairy.  Recently I attempted to bake a carrot cake based on recipes from here and there. Quickly, the composition that I made turn out very well, the cake baked beautifully, it's moist, and light.  It's dressed well, and It looked so pretty.  Here is the carrot cake.

The carrot cake was dedicated to family and friends for an afternoon tea, it was dressed as the traditional carrot cake with cream cheese topping and nuts.
The variation, topped with honey glazed and garnished with apricot, cherry and mixed nuts.

Susy Carrot Cake

Ingredients

100 g grated carrot

100 g crushed pineapple

1cup full plain flour

1teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

½ teaspoon cinnamon powder

½ teaspoon salt
125 g of raw sugar

125mil oil

2 large free-range

Method

Set the oven onto 165 degrees C

Batter and line loaf tin.

Dry ingredients- sift the flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon powder, sugar and  the salt

Mix the oil and egg together, add in the carrot and pineapple

In a large bowl, place the dry ingredients along with the egg and carrot mixture

Mix them together to combine, do not over mix

Pour the mixture into the readily prepared tin

Bake in the preheated oven for 50-55 minutes

Take it out of the oven, let it stay on the tin for 5 minutes,
before turning out to cool.

To dress:
Dress with cream cheese icing and garnished with dry fruits and nuts.

To serve: Sliced and serve with tea or coffee.

I like to keep the cake wrapped in baking paper and foil before to dress.  It stays well and moist.

To Dress the Carrot Cake

Pistachio, Pecan, Apricot, Golden Raisins, Pumpkin Seeds

Beautifully Dressed Carrot Cake. It's a Pretty Cake

Occasionally to have a sweet is alright but we try to have a healthy cake, sound so good, but it is not so easy to bake 'healthy sweet', after all, they contain sugar, fat, egg and carb.  Using oil in cakes to replace the butter may be a good start.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake is another healthy cake, I did taste one, but never tried to bake it.  Wait until the zucchini is in season.

Thinking of you Jane, I know you love your carrot cake, next year when you come to visit us I will bake a special carrot cake for you.  I know it is different from the carrot cake in the Netherlands.

Now spring is here, the season is slow to settle, the gloomy and rainy weather for the past few days were not the sign of spring.  But we ought to be positive, the spring celebration may be just what we need. Indeed, it was good, the food was yum, the sandwiches and the beautiful cake were delighted, everyone.

The Preparation of the Cake

Preparation for the poached apple and the baking of the cake.

1/2 cup red wine & 1/2 cup white sugar, 1star
Quartered two peeled golden delicious apples,
put in a pot, cook over medium heat until soft

The Cake Batter

At the last minutes, bring to a boil-bubbling
rapidly, and switch the heat off.

The Cake Batter on the Baking Tin

Place the apple in the middle
cover with the cake batter

The cake freezes well. Dress the cake on the day when you want to serve.
Bake the cake in the medium-hot oven at 175 degrees C, for 50-55 minutes or until it's cooked.

Confession, the cake did not hold well, when it turned over of the tin, some of the cake stuck on the baking paper, and you could see the filling-apple.  I was disappointed, but I managed to save it.  I gathered all the cake crumb, and place it in a bowl, added some melted butter and mixed lightly.  Scoop the cake crumbed mixture and place it over the apple, press gently to shape.  The cake looked smart, with crumbled on top and rather attractive; unfortunately, I did not have the picture.
I continue to dress the cake by adding melted white chocolate on top and scattered with finely slivered almond as seen on this picture below.

white chocolate, almonds, slivered almonds

cake dressed in white chocolate and
slivered almonds

melted white chocolate

Cut to small pieces and place on a plate garnished with fragrant herbs.

Preparing the egg sandwiches was easy enough. Boiled free-range eggs, do not overcook. Mash the eggs, season with salt and add mustard and mayonnaise to add flavour and creaminess.  Of course, I did not forget the fresh herbs and avocado to add to the filling.  Pretty egg sandwiches we had.

The recipe for the cake is the result of mixing and adding from different recipes.  It is not quite my own recipe.

Sour Cream Butter Cake with Poached Apple Filling

Ingredients
250g butter softened
210 caster sugar
3 large free-range eggs at room temperature
255g self-rising flour
45 g almond meal
1/2 cup sour cream
Filling:
Poached apple in red wine
Two apples golden delicious, peeled and quartered
1/2 cup red wine and 1/2 cup sugar
Method
Preheat oven  to 175 degrees C
Grease a bundt pan or savarin pan and lined with baking paper
Use an electric mixer to beat butter, sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at the time, beating well after each addition.  Add the flour, in alternating batches, stirring until just combined.  Add the sour cream the last and stirring quickly to mix.
Spoon the cake mixture in the prepared pan, about half up, place the filling arrange nicely around, cover with the cake mixture to close the filling and smooth the surface.
Bake for 50-55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted int he centre comes out clean.  Cool in the pan for five minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely
When it is cold, is ready for deep freezing or dress the cake to serve, simply dust it with icing sugar or top it with melted white chocolate and sprinkle with finely slivered almonds.

Note: you may have a leftover cake mixture ( depend to the size of your tin ), in this case, you could bake small cakes (use a mini muffin tin)
I must bake another cake based on this recipe, and hopefully, it works better.


The Pretty Cake was delighted the afternoon tea with friends, and the appreciation and celebration for spring went alright.  I am sure the weather will be better soon, warm, sunny just as spring should be.

For a change, we will have the experience of warmer weather in Brisbane a fun time with family and grandchildren.

Spring in the Backyard.

Have Fun and Be Best Friend and Don't Forget to Be Awesome.

Until Next Post
Susy

Early Spring

Colours in Our Backyard.

In spring, is very encouraging to see the colours in our backyard, the pure white and blue ground cover are looking clean and fresh, and yet the citruses and the blossoms add the beauty of the season. One orange rose gives a taste of the warm colour for this time of the year, and last but not least the adorable green Europhobia, love it.

Gorgeous colours in our garden;  pink, green, yellow, orange, white and blue.  We are blessed.

The garden, the wheelbarrow and the blossoms

Considering that I have not done enough for the garden this year but the garden does look perfect. Lots of weeds around you could see clearly, sunny and warm days will come soon hopefully, that is the time to have fun and to be working in the garden.

Happy Monday To All.

Make Today Beautiful!

Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.  Confucious.

Until Next Post
Susy

Geisha Girls CS

What Happened to the Duranta Repens?
The twins Duranta Repens trees the Geisha Girls have grown so big, and wild.  They had a good trim last winter, and now they look so sad, no leaves only branches.  The soil in the backyard is so fertile and good, plants are growing well this spring, but the Geisha girls are losing their leaves.

The Picture of the Geisha Girls before Were Trimmed.

Lots of leaves, green and lush, during winter.

Now, a month after the pruning
the leaves dropped and the trees look so sad.

Rayner thought they are going to live.  The leaves will grow back again this spring.

I do hope so.

What happens to this place?  Badly neglected.  Time to catch up, lots of work.

The standard Geisha Girl Stands Poorly
 On a Very Messy Ground.

Rose Bushes
What happened to the roses.  After the winter pruning and spraying, now they grow the leaves beautifully.  They look healthy, they are shiny, clean and free from nasty bugs.  That's what happens if we care about them properly.

The Pink Dwarf Balerina Apple.

It does not look good at all, the branches full of whitish cotton fluff, a kind of disease.   It was a worry to me, but unfortunately, it is too late now regardless of the attention and caring about it. Just see, it could be survived, and the leaves will grow again this Spring.
That's what happened when we did not look after it faithfully.

And what happened to the vegetable patch?.  Nothing!  No plants were growing during the winter, only herbs and curry leaf tree are there.  It is an empty patch, let it rest for now.
The plan is improving the place for Spring planting.

What happened to the backyard where the Geisha Girls CS (Cum Suis) live? - Geisha Girls and their friends.  One of the answers is, the gardener has to catch up a lot of work this spring to make it better.  That's all good,  I shall be able to work well at my own pace.

&&&&&&&&

____

The Kitchen.

Delicious Cooking.

What did you do with the fresh whole chicken in the fridge?
With a little imagination and planning, it becomes a delicious meal!
First deboned the chicken, rub with fresh herbs and salt, roll it to make a ballotine.  Cook to braise and served with garnishes.

Peel and dice potatoes and sweet potato for the garnish.

Delicious home cooking for the family.  What you need is time and work of love.





It was good to be talking to you Melanie on Saturday, always lovely to catch up, you do well! To our daughters. Thinking of you girls, celebrate your days by Being You, your mother and father are alright, busy and well.
Enjoy your garden this Spring, here in Austalia, and a lovely Autumn season in the Netherlands.  Have a good season!

The new cooking of mine, which is lazy cooking, has been good for us, now love to show you the pictures and how to do it. You may like it, especially since you are busy with your work and family.  However, it won't stop you from getting takeaway or dining out.  It is convenient for the daily meal.

I am sure you Melanie, Jane and Susan will do well with the cooking, you are all excellent cook.  It is easy to prepare practical cooking.

Lazy Chicken
A whole chicken size 18
Cut from the backbone to butterfly
Rub with, preserved lemon, salt and turmeric paste (mixed turmeric and oil)
Place on a tray-shallow casserole dish (I prefer this dish). You could serve straight away on the table.
(let it rest for 25 minutes before cooking the chicken in the oven)
Before putting the oven, add some lemon juice over the chicken and drizzle with some oil add a quarter cup of water on the dish.
Cover the chicken with baking paper, and place it in the oven to cook at a hot oven at 195 degrees C for one hour undisturbed.
Switch the oven off, take away the baking paper and replace it with the lid which is the lid of the casserole dish, let it stay in the oven for 22 minutes until serving time
Serve the chicken with any greens vegetables and rice or potato as you wish.

The Cooking

To Serve

Golden and Moist Chicken

Mixed Cooked Greens

Note: It needs a good judgement to season the chicken. Cook and Serve.
Happy Cooking!



I like this quote:

If you get tired, 
Learn to rest, not to Quit.






Until Next Post
Susy