This may look like your run of the mill Carrot Cake but don’t be deceived. This is quite possibly the best Carrot Cake I have ever eaten and yet the only Carrot Cake I have ever made.

The most surprising thing about this cake is that it even turned out.  I made it with a whisk and a metal spoon, didn’t have precisely all the right ingredients and realised during mixing that I hadn’t halved all the ingredients – I sloppily rectified this.

The brown butter gave it a richer taste and it was unbelievably moist.

This recipe makes two sponges which you can stack and ice but it was too much for two people so I froze one.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

One 8- or 9-inch (20-23cm) double layer cake

For the cake:

4 cups loosely packed grated carrots

1/2 cup sultanas (optional)

4 large eggs, at room temperature

¼ cup vegetable oil

¾ cup melted brown butter (or more oil)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups self-raising flour

2 cups raw sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

For the frosting:

450g cream cheese, at room temperature

110g unsalted butter, at room temperature

2-3 cups powdered sugar, sifted

a few drops of vanilla extract

For the cake,

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Butter two 8- or 9-inch (20-23cm) cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

Sift together the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

Beat the eggs until they are pale and frothy (they need not increase dramatically in volume) with a handheld mixer. With the mixer running, drizzle in the oil and melted butter, then the vanilla.

Add the dry ingredients to the eggs and mix carefully until just combined. The paddle will accomplish this easily but if you only have a hand held mixer you may want to just do it by hand.

Fold in the carrots and raisins, then divide the batter between the two pans.

Bake 30-35 minutes, until the surface springs back when gently touched.

Cool the cakes completely before frosting.

For the frosting,

Beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth.

Add the powdered sugar, gradually, (do this on low speed to avoid a dust cloud) and mix until light and silky.

Add the vanilla.

Serving and Storage: This cake is best served at room temperature but will keep for a few days stored in the refrigerator.

Heat a can of kidney beans and a jar of tomato salsa over the stove until the beans are tender and the salsa has thickened. Say 5-10 minutes?

In a bowl, combine an avocado, a can of corn, a handful of coriander, a chili, a couple of spring onions, juice of a lime and a good pinch of salt.

Heat a pan over high heat and fry the tortilla on each side.

Assemble and eat.

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter at room temperature (I used crunchy)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 180ºC.

Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl and set aside.

Beat the butter and the peanut butter together until fluffy in a separate bowl.

Add the sugars and beat until smooth.

Add the egg and mix well.

Add the milk and the vanilla extract.

Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly.

Stir in the peanut butter and chocolate chips.

Roll teaspoonfuls of the dough into rounds.

Place on a baking sheet lined with baking paper, leaving several inches between for expansion.

Use your thumb to lightly indent the middle of each round – do not overly flatten cookies.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Do not overbake. Cookies may appear to be underdone, but they are not.

Cool the cookies on the sheets for 1 minute, then remove to a rack to cool completely or just eat them.

My new winter breakfast.

Simmer pear pieces in brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon and water for 10 minutes or so.

Toast the semolina in a saucepan over a medium-high heat for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until it darkens slightly in colour.

Add milk and stir over a high heat until the semolina is cooked and the milk has been absorbed.

Put the semolina in a bowl, pour over the syrup and pears,  add some toasted nuts and serve.

Oh my! Boy this was good. And damn simple.

Carrot Salad with Harissa, Feta and Mint

via Smitten Kitchen

350g carrots, peeled, trimmed and coarsely grated

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 crushed clove of garlic

A handful of pistachios, toasted

1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds, ground

3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds, ground

1/2 teaspoon paprika

3/4 teaspoon harissa (or some form of chili paste)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice

A small handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

A small handful of fresh mint, finely chopped

100g+ feta, crumbled

Fry the garlic, caraway, cumin, paprika, harissa and sugar in the oil until fragrant, about one to two minutes.

Remove from heat and add the lemon juice and a pinch of salt.

Pour over the carrots and mix.

Add the herbs and mix.

Leave to infuse for an hour and add the feta before eating.

You may need to make a little extra syrup  to drizzle over the top as the cake will suck up most of it when cooking. Also, use a spatula dipped in water  to smooth the batter over the pears.

Chocolate Pear Cake

Pears

80g butter

2/3 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons water

2 small small pears, peeled, halved and cored

Cake

185g butter

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

3 eggs

2 cups self-raising flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

Preheat the oven to 180ºc.

Place the butter, sugar and water in a frying pan over medium heat and stir until the butter has melted.

Add the pears to the pan, cut-side down, and cook for 2 minutes.

Place the pears, cut-side down, in a 23cm round cake tin that has been side and base-lined with non-stick backing paper.

Pour over the syrup and set aside.

Place the butter and brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time and beat well.

Sift the flour and cocoa over the mixture and stir through.

Spoon the mixture over the pears in the tin.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer.

Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then invert onto a serving plate.

Eat warm with ice-cream.

I think I might make them with feta next time. Also maybe use spring onions instead or at least cook the red onion a little first, the taste was too harsh.

Pumpkin, Sage & Blue Cheese Fritters

Makes 12

2 cups grated pumpkin

1 small red onion, sliced

100g+ blue cheese, crumbled

1/4 cup rice flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 egg white

1/4 cup sage leaves, chopped

Salt & pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

12 sage leaves, extra

Lemon wedges, to serve

Place pumpkin, onion, cheese, flour, baking powder, egg white,  sage, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix well to combine.

Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat.

Shape tablespoonsful of the mixture into patties and top with extra sage leaves.

Fry for 2-3 minutes on each side or until golden and cooked through.

Serve with lemon.

Chewy Oat & Choc Cookies

125g butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup desiccated coconut

1 cup rolled oats

1 cup choc bits

1 cup self-raising flour

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Combine butter, vanilla and sugar in a bowl.

Add coconut, oats, chocolate and sifted flour, mix until well combined.

Roll level tablespoons of mixture into balls.

Place onto a greased oven tray about 5 cm apart. Flatten slightly with a fork.

Bake for about 8 minues or until golden brown.

Caramel Slice

1 cup self raising flour

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup desiccated coconut

150g butter melted

395g can sweetened Condensed milk

2 tablespoons butter, extra

1 cup milk or dark chocolate melts, melted

Preheat oven to 180ºc and line an 18cm x 28cm tin with baking paper.

Mix the flour, sugar, coconut and butter together in a bowl.

Press into the prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes.

Combine the condensed milk, golden syrup and extra butter in a saucepan. Stir constantly over medium heat until almost boiling.

Reduce to a low heat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Pour caramel over base and bake a further 10 minutes. Allow to cool.

Spead the Caramel Slice with the melted chocolate, refrigerate until set.

Serve cut into pieces.

Recipe from Maggie’s Table

Fig & Walnut Meringue

180 g walnuts

330 g dried figs

6 free-range egg whites

250 g soft dark-brown sugar

Mascarpone

Slices of candied or fresh lime (optional)

Preheat the oven to 220C.

Roast the walnuts on a baking tray for about 5 minutes, shaking the trays to prevent the nuts from burning. If they are not fresh season’s, rub the walnuts in a clean tea towel to remove the bitter skins, then sieve away the skins. Allow to cool.

Reduce the oven temperature to 180C.

Line and grease a 24 cm springform cake tin.

Remove the hard stem from each fig, then chop the figs into small pieces (this should give you 1and 1?2 cups).

Toss the walnuts and fig pieces together.

Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks in a bowl with an electric mixer.

Slowly add the soft dark-brown sugar in heaped tablespoons until incorporated and the resultant meringue is thick and stiff. Mix a spoonful of the meringue through the figs and walnuts. Tip this back into the meringue and fold it through.

Spoon the meringue mixture into the prepared cake tin and bake for 45–50 minutes; until the tart pulls away from the sides and feels ‘set’ on top.

Allow to cool and serve with a good dollop of mascarpone. Candied or even fresh lime is a wonderful accompaniment to this tart – decorate the edge of the tart with a ring of fine, fine slices of the lime. The tart is meant to be sticky and soft and will be rustic in appearance, so don’t fret if it falls apart as you serve it.

BURNT! I think we put the grill on…