Easter carrot cake

Carrot cake is a really nice treat. I added some sultanas to mine, you could try adding walnuts, pecans, raisins or just leave it plain. Traditionally carrot cake has a cream cheese icing but I covered mine with lemon icing made by mixing icing sugar and lemon juice.

Ingredients
Caster sugar 175g/6oz
Sunflower oil 200ml/7fl oz
3 large eggs
Self raising flour 175g/6oz
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mixed spice
pinch of salt
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1/2 lemon
350g grated carrot
50g sultanas (optional)

Method
-Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a 8 inch round cake tin with baking paper.
-Mix together the sugar and oil. Add the eggs one at a time mixing well after each addition.
-Sift together the flour, cinnamon, spice and salt. Fold into the mix along with the carrot, sultanas, lemon zest and juice.
-Pour into the tin, level the top with a spoon and cook for 1 hour, or until the top is browned and a skewer placing in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the tin for 10-15 minutes before turning out and letting cool completely on a rack or plate.

 For decoration I made a little fondant bunny and a chocolate bran flake nest filled with mini eggs.

Thanks for reading x

Madeira Cake

I made a madeira cake for my granddad this week which I thought I would share. It is a simple cake which is typically flavoured with lemon and is similar to what Americans call pound cake. Madeira cakes are good for decorating and carving into shapes due to their firm texture. The name according to wikipedia comes from Madeira wine as that was what it was traditionally served with. Today I went with a simple loaf rather than anything fancy.

Ingredients
175g butter (6 oz) (softened)
175g (6 oz) caster sugar
3 large eggs
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
225g (8 oz) self-raising flour (sifted)

Method
-Preheat the oven to 160 °C. Spray the loaf tin with some cooking spray (Or rub on a little butter/margarine) to stop sticking.
-Mix together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (I used an electric hand whisk)
-Add the eggs one a time with a tablespoon of the flour and mix well after each addition
- Fold in the rest of the flour and lemon zest followed by the lemon juice.
-Bake for 40-60 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer placed into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
-Allow to cool in the tin for 5-10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Sometimes simple is best when it comes to cake.

Thanks for reading x

Sesame street cupcakes

Here are a few Sesame street cupcakes I made for my nieces 2nd birthday.

Thanks for reading x