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Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing (Incl. recipe)

My parents came down this weekend and we took them out for brunch as an early birthday treat for my Mums birthday. I also made her a carrot cake which after brunch and then a walk down the seafront, we came back and ate a slice of with a cup of tea. I used a Mary Berry recipe for the sponge and for the icing a recipe from the BBC Good Food website.

Recipe:

For the sponge:
250ml sunflower oil
4 large eggs
225g light muscovado sugar
200g peeled and grated carrot
300g self-raising flour, sifted
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground mixed spice
1 tsp ground ginger
75g walnuts, shelled and chopped

For the icing:
100g softened butter
300g full fat cream cheese or mascarpone cheese (I used Philadelphia)
100g icing sugar, sifted
A couple of drops of vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan oven/350°F/Gas 4
2. Grease and line two 8 inch round tins and set aside
3. Mix the oil, eggs and sugar in a bowl and mix until well combined
4. Fold in the grated carrot
5. Sift the flour, baking powder, mixed spice and ginger into the mixture, and mix until well combined.
6. Mix in the walnuts
7. Place the cakes in the oven and bake for approx. 25-30 minutes
8. Once baked (check this by inserting a cake tester or knife into the middle of the cakes and checking they come out clean), leave in the tins to cool for ten minutes, then turn out onto a wiring rack to cool completely
9. Once the cakes are cooled, beat the butter until very soft (this is very important! If the butter is not soft enough it will not combine with the cream cheese. I have thrown away two batches because I didn't do this)
10. Mix in the cream cheese a little at a time until fully incorporated.
11. Sift in the icing sugar and combine slowly. Be careful not over mix as this runs the risk of the icing becoming too runny.
12. Place the first layer of the cake (flat side down) on to a board or cake stand and 'glue' the base to the board/stand with a little of the icing so it doesn't slide about
13. If your sponge is raised in the middle and you want it flat, carve off the top with a bread knife.
14. Add some of the icing to the middle of the base cake and smooth out to the sides with the back of a spoon or a spatula
15. Repeat the carving process if necessary on the second cake half, and place on top of the icing so the flat side is upwards. This will give a flatter area to work on.
16. Repeat the icing process as above and sprinkle on walnuts.

Enjoy with a hot cuppa!
Happy Baking.

International Womens Day - The ones I look up to

I found out after browsing Facebook in bed this morning (standard), that today is International Women's Day (IWD), a day that celebrates achievements of women and recognises the suffragettes campaign for the right to vote. It also addresses the changes that need to be made around the world with regard to female and male inequality.

I'm not about to get all feminist on you, but thought I would write a post on the women who inspire me most and who I look up to. It all might be a bit cliche, but that's fine.

1. My Mum - my ultimate female bestie. Always there for me with an ear and advice and a general chit chat, she is my go to woman! She only relies on herself and will support us through thick and thin.

2. My Maternal Nan - My Nan is almost 80, but is a complete trooper. She'll stay up late, can text super fast, has a Facebook page and still knows how to have a good laugh (especially when all her daughters are staying over the night for late night wine and laughter ). She lost my Grandad a couple of years ago and I don't know how she managed to get through so well. It completely devastated me so how she did it I do not know. She also makes the best gravy ever!

3. My Paternal Nan - My Dad's Mum never took life too seriously and (along with my Grandad) taught me that love should be full of laughter. She also always had a goodie box full of chocolate and made the best mushy peas. Unfortunately we lost her a year after my Dad's dad, but she was never the same without him. Although I miss her, I'm glad she is safely back with my Grandad.

4. My Great Aunt Brenda - Purely because she makes the best cakes, and a party without her input is just not the same. Maybe she'll make a raspberry pavalova for my party? Maybe that's a bit cheeky?

What women in life do you admire?

*Image taken from Google

Decorated Cookies

I'm a fan of decorated cookies and have made them as wedding favours for friends and family. I think they are something a little different (although they have started growing in popularity in the UK) and they can be completely personalised to someones big day, whether in a traditional style or not. I usually cover my cookies in fondant icing but I would really like to start using royal icing as well. You can do so many different things with fondant and royal icing, but royal takes more time, effort and persistence.  

I have also made decorated cookies for birthday parties, such as the pirate cookies below, which I think turned out really cute. Decorated cookies are really versatile and can be made for any occasion, making them great favours, treats and gifts.

Flourish - A Year in the Making

Having suffered on and off in my twenties with anxiety, I like a good self help book every now and then. I'm determined to not let this 'invisible' disorder affect me going in to my 30's and in order to do that there are a few things that I need to change, i.e. the way I eat, the amount of exercise I do, organisation skills etc, all of which can contribute to a decrease in the feelings and emotions anxiety give you. I'm not about to give a lecture about how anxiety has affected me over the years or how it needs to be recognised as a real thing, because that's no fun, but I am going to share a new book I have found, called 'The Flourish Handbook'.

This book aims to take you on a journey over the course of a year, breaking down month by month an area of life to concentrate on to enable you to flourish as a person and create the best you. I always say I am going to do this and going to do that, but I don't really have any structure, anything pushing me, and this book will help me with that. Sometimes you just need a plan and a structure to help you through.

The month by month categories are:

Month 1 - Create an enabling environment
Month 2 - Generate more energy
Month 3 - Harness your mind power
Month 4 - Create a meaningful life/career/business with purpose
Month 5 - Sourcing engagement and enjoyment
Month 6 - Be mindful and practice mindfulness
Month 7 - Make family relationships
Month 8 - Sustaining an attitude of gratitude

Month 9 - Create a vision and set clear goals
Month 10 - Self-discipline and persistence
Month 11 - Master time management
Month 12 - Plan to flourish

My years journey on the flourish plan starts today, 1st March, and this month I will be creating an enabling environment, at home and at work. I will be arming myself with boxes and bin bags and de-cluttering our space, and I'll be buying a few things to add homeliness and organisation. I'll update at the end of the month and let you all know how I got on. If you want to join me, you can find the book here.



*Image taken from Google