Recipe: Carrot Cake

It's the first time i've ever made a carrot cake, and this is the recipe I used. When cooked just right it makes the most lovely, moist cinnamon-sweet cake!

You will need:

300g plain flour

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

200g soft brown sugar

4 eggs

250ml oil

1 orange, zested

200g carrots, finely grated

And for Cream Cheese Frosting:

125g unsalted butter at room temperature

50g icing sugar

250g cream cheese

Preheat the oven to 150°C/Gas 2. Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda together and stir in the sugar. Beat the eggs with the oil and orange zest. Stir in the carrots and fold everything into the flour mixture. Divide the mixture between two tins and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted through the centre of the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool.

For the frosting, beat the butter and icing sugar together until soft and then beat in the cream cheese. Chill the mixture until it's thick but spreadable. Place the first cake topside down on a serving plate and spread a thick layer of frosting on top. Carefully place the second cake, topside up this time onto the first cake and cover both cakes with frosting.

Note: I made this cake in your average sized shallow sandwich tin - remember the finished cake will be double that size!

Recipe: Brownie Bites

I love these myself, and so does everyone else who's tasted them!

It can sometimes be a bit tricky to judge how well done they are, but it gets easier with practice :)

You Will Need:

• 100g dark chocolate

• 110g butter

• 225g sugar

• 2 large eggs, beaten

• 50g flour

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp salt

Pre heat the oven to 180°c/Gas 4 and grease and line a shallow baking tray with baking paper. Break up the chocolate into small pieces, then melt it together with the butter on a low heat.

Spoon the choc/butter mixture and sugar into a large bowl.

Add beaten eggs to the mixture.

In a separate bowl mix the flour with the salt and baking powder, then add to the main mixture and stir well. Transfer the mixture into the baking tray.

Bake in the oven for around 30 minutes making sure not to over cook.

Turn the oven temperature down if unsure. The outside of the brownie should be crisp with the insides remaining quite sticky.

Leave to cool, then remove from tray and cut into bitesize chunks.

Recipe: Easy Garlic Bread

Everyone loves garlic bread! Why not try swapping the baguette for some ciabatta bread and grating some of your favourite cheese to melt on top?

You Will Need:

3 large cloves of garlic, 100g soft butter, 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley, 1 baguette.

Preheat the oven to 200°c/400°f/Gas 6. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Mix the chopped garlic with the butter and the stir in the parsley. Take the baguette and make diagonal incisions about 3cm apart using a sharp knife. Make sure you don't cut straight through the bread! Spread the garlic butter generously between the slices. Then wrap the baguette in a sheet of tin foil and bake in the middle of the oven for around 10 minutes. Then open the foil and allow the top of the baguette to crisp for an extra 3-4 minutes.

Recipe: Speedy Chicken Pie

This recipe has been adapted slightly, and the original can be found in The Baby & Toddler Cookbook & Meal Planner by Sara Lewis.

When you first look at the ingredients list for this recipe, you'd be forgiven for thinking - Crisps?

But trust me, it turns out yummy!

This is what you'll need:

• 1 celery stick

• 1 small tin of sweetcorn

• mayonaise

• 2 cooked skinless and boneless chicken breasts

• 1 or 2 packets of plain crisps

• 1 bag of grated red Leicester cheese

Preheat the oven to 220°c/425°f/Gas 7.

Rinse the celery, slice thinly and place in a bowl with the drained sweetcorn.

Dice the chicken breasts and add to the bowl, mix together with just enough mayonaise to coat all the ingredients.

(The more mayo you add, the creamier the pie mixture will turn out.) After mixing well, spoon into a shallow oven dish and level the surface.

Roughly crush the crisps and sprinkle over the chicken mixture.

Top with the grated cheese and cook for 10 minutes until the pie is piping hot and bubbly. Cool slightly then serve with peas and brocolli.

National Baking Week Starts Here!

I love baking goodies anyway, but this week I have a great excuse -

It's National Baking Week!

The theme for 2009 is 'Bake & Share' so i'll be busy in the kitchen all this week and sharing my photos and favourite recipes with all my readers at the end of the week. Watch this space :)