Peppa Pig Vanilla Bean Birthday Cake (with a pink heart running through)

Peppa Pig Vanilla Bean Cake (with a strawberry flavoured heart running through)

This one’s just for show!
Thanks to Gill at work for trusting me to make this and to the other Jill for the book which has inspired me to keep baking…  I’m sad we don’t get to talk cake much these days.
Anyway, this cake was for a little two year old.  It is a vanilla bean cake, with a bright pink strawberry flavoured heart running all the way through (so that when you cut it, you get the heart in every slice!)  It’s been my favourite cake to make so far… such fun making the little figures.

Peppa Pig

OOoooh, that’s a bit close up!!

“Mila”

Anyway, more recipes coming soon! x
 

 

Cherry, Almond and Swede Cake

Cherry, Almond and Swede Cake

Who doesn’t love Cherry Bakewells?  Aren’t they just so cheeky?  I imagine they were exactly what Alice ate when she saw those tiny delights with ‘Eat Me’ written on them.
Give in to temptation… go on…
Chocolate would have been so obvious.
You’ve always prided yourself on being slightly avant garde…  I bet you’re wondering how moist that almond centre would be if you bit into it, the crumbly pastry flickering down your chin.  Take another look at those cherries. Go on.   I dare you.  They’re winking at you…

Open-hearted….

Do I need to say any more?

The recipe is very slightly adapted from Harry Eastwood’s ‘Red Velvet Chocolate Heartache’.
It is quite simply delicious.  And fat free.  It needs to be eaten straight away with a cup of tea – the lack of fat means it will dry out quickly compared to a sponge made with butter.

Cherry, Almond and Swede Cake
(4.5 inch tin)

110g (3/4 cup) glace cherries
1.5 eggs
80g (1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp) caster sugar
90g (2/3 cup) grated swede (Harry Eastwood uses potato – this is delicious too)
45g (just over 1/3 cup) self-raising flour
45g (just over 1/3 cup) ground almonds
1/2 tsp (scant) almond extract
a little grated lemon zest
Flaked almonds to decorate (toasted)
Icing sugar + water (to drizzle)
Jam (to fill)

* Grease and line two 4.5 inch tins (12 cm).
* Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C / 350F / gas 4.
* Chop all of the cherries in half and dust lightly with flour.
* Whisk the eggs and the sugar in a separate bowl for 5 minutes until pale and at least doubled in volume.
* Beat in the grated swede, then fold in the flour, almonds, almond extract and lemon zest.
* Pour the batter into the two tins evenly.
* Gently place the cherries into the batter – don’t press down too much.  Bake the cakes for around 20-25 mins or until an oven thermometer reads around 92-95 degrees and the cake is coming away from the sides.
* Once baked, leave the cakes to cool.  To prevent them from sinking, invert your tins!
* When cool, split the cakes and fill with jam.  (I chose NOT to split these cakes – I just filled the two halves).  A home made cherry jam is ideal!  Layer the cakes and drizzle with a simple icing sugar/water drizzle.  sprinkle with almonds.
* Serve!

Lemon, Lavender and Parsnip Cake

Lemon, Lavender and Parsnip Cake

Here’s the second cake in ‘Vegetable Month’.  I think this little Missy should be showcased in every home, she’s so beautiful.
She’s very easy on the eye – a real English Rose.  She’s soft and pale – no sunshine for her!  She stands pertly, holding a fluttery white parasol, with dainty white daisies dotted around the top.  Her pale complexion is never compromised – porcelain, creamy skin with perfectly pink cheeks. It’s probably tennis she’s watching, whilst nibbling on strawberries and cream as the bewitching scent of lavender dances across the perfectly manicured lawn.  This young lady wears no make-up – there’s no need.  Just a dusting of powder, flowers in her hair and she’s ready.
Inspiration…finding your niche…
I have recently talked about my quest to find cakes that incorporate natural ingredients that have purpose – cakes that are based upon vegetables or fruits.  They may have healing properties – who knows?  After all, if you’re feeling down, a piece of cake always perks you up, right?  Why not incorporate some magic – some sweet, peppery parsnip to encourage that fire in your belly?  Or some earthy butternut squash to plant your feet firmly back on the ground?  This is my aim.
Replacing the fats with vegetables and using the ‘whisked method’ means that adding vegetables to cake is easy-peasy.  Just ensure that you whisk your eggs and sugar so hard, it’s dizzy.  Five minutes, minimum!  Then, whisk in the vegetables (experiment!), add your flavourings and fold in the flour – et voila!  Anything is possible…
I have adapted a Harry Eastwood recipe here and, as I love her style of adding personas to cakes (and the actual cakes!), I have emulated her style of writing.  I love it and have no shame in emulating her – in doing so, I hope to develop a style of my own.  Those in the writing industry always state how much you can learn by emulating your favourite writers – eventually, along will come a beautiful prose of your own.  It works – I have a completed children’s book that is just waiting to be published!

Lemon, Lavender and Parsnip Cake (4.5 inch cake tins x 2)
This is a recipe for ONE cake tin – you will need to make two lots of this batter

85g grated parsnip
51g clear honey
1 large, free range egg
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp crushed culinary lavender sprigs
52g self-raising flour

*  Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F/gas 4
*  Grease and line your cake tin.
*  Grate the parsnip.
*  In a bowl, whisk the honey and eggs for two minutes – it needs lots of air incorporated into it.
*  Add the lemon zest, flour, and lavender and fold in gently.
*  Fold in the parsnip.
*  Pour the batter into your tin and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the cake is pulling away from the sides of the tin, is springy to the touch and reaches a temperature of 97 degrees C on a baking thermometer.
*  When out of the oven, turn the tin upside down on a cooling rack for 5 minutes.  This helps to stop the cake sinking back.  Then, remove the cake and leave to cool.  Bake the next cake.
*  When both cakes are cool, fill with lemon curd and cream cheese icing.  Dust with icing sugar.
To make your own lemon curd try this:
Curly Girl Kitchen – Grapefruit Curd (substitute lemons for grapefruit)
I DO love Curly Girl!!
To make the above cake gluten free, you could use almond flour or Gluten Free flour.

‘Ruby Red’ Velvet Cakes (and Vegetable month)

Ruby Root Velvet Cakes

Ruby Red.  Whisper her name.
She’s pouty, artificial and preened to within an inch of her life, yet oozes charm.  She’s dressed immaculately in a fitted, tailored suit with patent killer heels.  She probably owns a multi-million pound company and could stand her ground in the Dragon’s Den.  At  night, Ruby Red steps out into the hot city streets, flicks on her lipstick, lets down her auburn hair and dances the Tango with fire in her belly. Later,  she sips red wine, ordering only French food…
Sounds dangerous, doesn’t she?
She is – eating three of her in one sitting is not unheard of!  However, this beauty has a secret…
Ruby Red is perfectly healthy.
She dances so fiercely because she is full of potassium, magnesium and iron.  Drenched in vitamins A, B6 and C, Ruby can dance all night – power and stamina are her tools.  High concentrations of nitrate oxide means that no matter how long and how hard she dances, she’ll never tire – her blood pressure stays low and she never fatigues.
Why?
Ruby Red Velvet is made with beetroot.
The recipe has been adapted in a quest to make it slightly healthier and to maximise the beetroot benefits.  Try them – you’ll never look back!
Recipe adapted from: http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/13540/red-velvet-beetroot-cake.aspx

Ruby Red Velvet Cakes (8″ x 12″ baking tray)
100g (1/3 cup PLUS 1 good tbsp) unsalted butter
280g (1 cup PLUS 1/3 cup)  caster sugar
2 large eggs
100g (2/3 cup) grated fresh beetroot
1/4 tsp extra red food colouring
325g (3 cups) self-raising flour
30g (1/4 cup) cocoa powder
250ml (1 cup) buttermilk (use 1 tsp lemon juice to every 250ml of milk to make a substitute)
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp white wine vinegar
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:
100g (1/2 cup) butter
175g (3/4 cup) full fat cream cheese
225g (2 and 1/4 cups) icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar)

*  Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C / Gas 6 / 356 F
* Grease and line your baking tray.
* Sift the flour, cocoa and sugar together.  Whisk these dry ingredients together to incorporate air.
*  Whisk in butter until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
*  Add the eggs gradually, beating until just incorporated.
*  Beat in the buttermilk until pale and creamy (about 2 mins)
* Grate the beetroot into the mixture finely.
*  Stir the food colouring into the mixture until evenly combined.
*  In a separate small bowl, mix together the bicarbonate of soda and the vinegar until it fizzes, then add it immediately to the batter.
*  Pour the batter into a greased, lined tin.
* Bake for 30 – 40 minutes, until it is coming away from the tin, springs back to the touch, a skewer inserted comes out clean or it reaches over 96 degrees C / 205 F on a baking thermometer.
* Turn onto a baking rack to cool completely.
* When cold, cut ’rounds’ from the cake using a circle cutter.  Cut them to the size you prefer.  Place in a container to keep fresh.

* Make up your cream cheese frosting whilst the cake cools.
* Beat the butter until soft and pale.  Add the cream cheese and beat this in.  Add the icing sugar and beat until it is the consistency you prefer.  If you enjoy a stiffer icing, add extra icing sugar.

* When you are ready to serve, take the cakes from the container.  Slice a cake in half and pipe in a good swirl of frosting.  Place the other half on top.  Then pipe another swirl of frosting on the top, piling on a selection of fresh berries to finish.  Sprinkle with edible glitter for a decadent touch!

Mini Ginger and Chamomile Sponge Sandwich Cakes

Well, I think it’s time to say goodbye to Ginger Month.  It’s March and I’m now thinking about planting vegetables, ready for the spring.  We have asparagus root (a valentine’s gift), courgettes, narcissus and a variety of herbs.
I’m looking forward to planting the asparagus because it’s something I’ve never grown, so I’m keen to see how well it will work in a garden-by-the-sea. Also, asparagus is lush AND it makes your wee smell, which is funny!  Hmmm, juvenile?  Yes.  Weirdly entertaining?  Yes!
Anyway, I digress.
With the arrival of springy March, Ginger Month comes to an end.  Sadly.
I’ve taken to drinking a large cup of hot water with a nice slice of ginger seeped into it in the morning and, I have to say, it’s very much my favourite drink at the moment.  Hot and deliciously spicy but very comforting.
The little ginger sponges I made were for a weekend of fun and frolics with our cousins from Leeds – here they are again:
It was disappointing when G said she didn’t like ginger.  But VERY satisfying when she liked the cakes!  Thanks G….  XX
Anyway, here’s the recipe… sadly, I can’t give you exact tin sizes, but use as many as you need, filling 3/4 full OR make cupcakes, filling as many cases as you need 3/4 full.

Mini Ginger and Chamomile Sponge Sandwich Cakes

3 eggs (You will need to weigh them in their shells.  Mine weighed 180g)

Exactly the same amount of butter, caster sugar and self-raising flour.  (If you only have all-purpose/plain flour, add 1 teaspoon of baking powder [5g] per 100g of flour.  Apologies US friends – I think that equates to 1 tsp baking powder for just over 3/4 cup of flour).
120g peeled and finely grated fresh ginger.
2 chamomile tea bags, emptied into a cup.
25 ml milk, warmed, with 1 chamomile teabag added to it and left to steep.

* Grease and line a large rectangular cake tin. (I used a tray bake tin and filled it 3/4 full) or line a cupcake tin with liners.
* Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C (340 degrees F).
* Weigh out your ingredients. (Remember, it is the weight of the eggs in their shells you will base your recipe on). So, if you have eggs that weigh 180g, you will need equivalent weights of butter, sugar and flour.
* High sift your flour into a clean bowl, twice!
* Quickly beat together your eggs in a cup.
* In your free-standing mixer, or using an electric hand whisk, beat your butter until pale and fluffy.
* Add your sugar and beat.  Beat it some more.  Beat the living daylights out of it!
* Beat in the ginger and loose chamomile.
* Add the fragrant chamomile milk to the eggs and beat in a cup with a fork.
* Gradually add your this mixture to the butter and sugar, a little at a time.  Beat, beat, scrape down, beat, beat and beat.  If your mixture curdles, you are being darn impatient!  This part takes time, but is vital to a light sponge.  Set aside 10 minutes for this part.
* When your mixture is ‘together’ and isn’t curdling, high sift your flour into the bowl and, by hand, fold it in.
* Spoon the mixture into your cake tin or cupcake cases.
* Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until light golden brown (15-20 mins for cupcakes).  The top should spring back to the touch and the edges should be pulling away from the sides of the tin.
* Leave to cool for 10 minutes, then turn onto a cooling rack.
* Use a cutting ring to cut out rounds of cake.  When cool, slice these rounds into two.  Make a buttercream (Italian Meringue is nice… and sandwich two round together, adding a swirl of buttercream to the top. (You could use whipped fresh cream if you prefer…)
* Decorate with a slice of ginger and some gold dragees.

This is NOT cake…

I have been deviating from baking just a little recently and have been exploring other creative avenues… breaking a cup helped.

Just thought it might be a nice share for all those of us who accidentally break little baking items/tea cups and plates regularly! Accident prone….

Vintage Tea Service Mirror

It is listed on ebay as ‘vintage style, shabby chic mirror’.

Ginger, Chocolate and Caramel Layer Cake

Ginger, Chocolate and Caramel Layer Cake

With St Valentine’s Day just over, there has been an abundance
of recipes saturating the internet for chocolate desserts or hidden-heart cupcakes all slathered with frostings in every shade of red or pink, sprinkled with tiny heart sprinkles…
Maybe, just maybe, a little sickly??
How about a masterful cake with just a gentle nod towards ingredients that Aphrodite may have baked with?!
Cue this layer cake.
This recipe is heavily lifted (but very adapted) from the BBC Good Food website.  It’s one of those cakes that looked handsome and dashing, making satisfying promises even though it mightn’t be in keeping with a more natural looking bake. It’s dense and rich and gets better with keeping…
The great thing is, this style of layering cakes can be used and adapted to create other, more organic, unrefined style cakes.

From the top….

The Ginger Theme…
It’s still going.
Why ginger?
Well, let’s have a look at the health benefits of ginger.  What’s the history?  What’s the mystery?
Contrary to popular belief, ginger is actually a herb, not a spice.  It is the rhizome of the plant that is used in popular cooking – both sweet and savoury.  Originally cultivated in China, it has been used for over two thousand years in Chinese medicines for a range of ailments and disorders.  Some of these are familiar to us – when we have a cold, a typical old-fashioned remedy is to combine ginger and honey to create a soothing, antiseptic throat syrup.  Ginger is known for it’s antiseptic properties, as a circulatory stimulant and as an anti-inflammatory.
In folklore, ginger has been often associated with healing and with love charms, due to it’s ‘heat’ and powerful effect on the circulation!  It’s overall feel-good factor combined with the many, many health benefits surely make it a top-ten store cupboard ingredient…

Ginger, Chocolate and Caramel Layer Cake (8 inch, tall cake)

Ginger and Chocolate sponges

225g soft unsalted butter , plus extra for greasing
225g golden caster sugar
175g self-raising flour
85g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
85g grated, fresh ginger
150ml pot natural yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 tbsp cocoa powder

Caramel and Chocolate-Caramel Sponges
225g unsalted butter , plus extra for greasing
175g light muscovado sugar
50g dark muscovado sugar
175g self-raising flour
85g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs
150ml pot natural yogurt
85g grated fresh ginger
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp cocoa

1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line 2 x 20cm/8 inch sandwich tins with baking parchment. For the ginger & chocolate sponges, cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time, beating them in to the mix. Whisk in the yoghurt and the vanilla.
Whisk the baking powder into the flour with the almonds.  Fold the flour/almond/baking powder mixture into the butter/sugar/egg mix.
2. Scrape half the mix into a second bowl and stir in the cocoa. Into the plain mix, whisk in the grated ginger.   Pour into the tins and bake for 30-35 mins until a skewer poked in comes out clean, or a cake thermometer reads over 96 degrees F.
3. Repeat step 1 for the caramel-ginger & caramel-chocolate sponges, again leaving cocoa and ginger out of the first mixing, then splitting the mix in half and stirring the cocoa into one batch and ginger into the other. Mark your tins so you can remember which is which! Cook as above.
3. After baking, cool the sponges on a cooling rack.

When cooled, spread the ginger sponge with your choice of filling.  Then place the caramel sponge on top.  Spread on your filling again, then top with the caramel-chocolate sponge and repeat with the final, chocolate sponge.

I covered my cake with a fudge frosting, but you could choose:
Cake Frostings/Icings

Happy Baking!

Glitter Cookies – Ginger, Chocolate and Orange

Ginger, orange and chocolate cookies…

Oh my, what’s not to love?  The gentle aphrodisiac of ginger, the cheeky sweetness of orange and the silkiness of warm chocolate.  Perfect.
There’s nothing more delicious than chunky cookies that are crisp on the outside and soft and chewy in the middle. I remember making dozens of cookies using a tubbed ready-to-go-dough whilst working for a well known bakery chain.  We deliberately ‘forgot’ to flatten the dough balls so that our customers always got that delicious chewy centre.  Even more enticing when they’re warm!  Who can resist a fresh-from-the-oven cookie?
Sit back, pour that glass of milk and indulge in the memories of childhood.

Heady spice…

Hot, hazy summer days, lazing by the paddling pool, gently fishing out the unsuspecting insects that buzzed innocently above the water and dropped in.  Cool carpets of grass tickling the toes, soft whispers of a warm breeze pushing through the branches of the overhanging apple tree.  Bright young things, completing wobbly hand-stands, dancing, calling out, laughing, giggling whilst platefuls of freshly cut orange slices just wait to ooze their juices down sticky chins…
Just think – we’re moving into spring and then soon, very soon, it will be summer.  Hot? Maybe. But I think I’ll still be calling for the ginger  :)

Glitter Cookies – Ginger, Orange and Chocolate (10 BIG, 15 smaller) (adapted from ‘Chocolate: a collection of over 100 essential recipes)

210g plain flour
125g unsalted butter
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
110g light brown sugar
100g caster sugar
1 egg
70g chopped dark chocolate (nice and chunky!)
1 generous tsp of golden syrup
20g finely grated fresh ginger
zest of 1 orange
melted milk chocolate for covering
Gold edible glitter (for decoration)

*  Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
* Grease and line two good sized baking trays.
* In a bowl, whisk the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt.  Keep to one side.
* Cream the butter and sugars together until nice and pale.
* Add the ginger and orange zest.
* Add the eggs gradually, still beating slowly.
* Fold in the flour, then the chocolate.
* Form balls the size of golf balls – flatten them gently onto the trays.  Leave room between them as they do spread!!
* Bake for 10-12 minutes.  You can flatten them slightly when they come out.
* Allow to cool completely on a cooling rack.  Meanwhile, melt your chocolate ready to spread/drizzle onto your cookies.  Sprinkle with gold ‘ginger’ glitter.

Spicy Fresh Gingerbread (for ‘Ginger Month’)

Spicy, fresh gingerbread.

The Ginger Chronicles

Is anyone else feeling the long dark days and the bitter cold of February already?
Luckily, I have a fetish for fresh root ginger, so I’m designating February ‘Ginger Month’.
Irresistibly soulful, gingerbread exudes that exotic warmth that immediately transports you to the Middle East , enveloping you with heady aromas and sultry flavours.  But gingerbread is also a huge matter of taste, like a Crème Egg. (How DO you like yours?)  Crisp and crunchy?  Soft and spicy? Hot? Sticky? It always fascinates me that so many young children like it.  Let’s face it, ginger is quite the acquired taste.

As a relatively new baker,  I’ve been through so many ‘phases’.  There’s been the fondant-iced-large-decorated-cake phase, the cupcake phase, the biscuit phase, the hunt-for-the-perfect-vanilla-cake phase, the pastry phase, the classic bakes phase etc etc.  Now, each one has been thoroughly enjoyable.  But I’m starting to find my niche…
Natural flavours, fresh ingredients, experimental tastes.
The recipe below is one I always used, however it was never soft enough or flavoursome enough.  Certainly not enough to excite the palate.  I wanted to awaken the taste-buds, to push the plain old children’s gingerbread into the grown up version (with a little childlike addition – a single Smartie!).

Lots of freshly grated ginger and chopped chillies…

So, what is in gingerbread?  Ginger, of course!  Never having used fresh root ginger, I researched recipes that included it and settled on a rough amount.
http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/8393/fresh-ginger-cookies.aspx
My first batch included 40g but it didn’t zing.  So, in this batch, I added 55g.  Why not?  Half a fresh chilli added a grown up twist, along with the addition of some hot black pepper.
The mixture is very wet and well hydrated but who wants a mouthful of dry ginger biscuit anyway?  It’s worth the effort it takes to cut out the shapes from a sticky mix, it really is.
Try it.

 Spicy Gingerbread (14 – 16 biscuits) 

½ egg plus 1 egg yolk (beaten lightly)
110g lightly salted butter (Morrison’s ‘Best for Baking’ is good)
100g dark brown sugar
90g golden syrup
55g fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
½ fresh red chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
5g ground ginger
2g ground cinnamon
1g cracked black pepper
280g plain flour
1/8 of a tsp bicarbonate of soda
zest of ½ small unwaxed lemon
Smarties
Cutters

* Beat the egg lightly and set aside.
* Put the butter and dark brown sugar into a mixing bowl and beat (I got the best results by doing this by hand).  Then add the golden syrup and beat again.
* Beat in (by hand) the eggs.
*  Add the spices to the batter and mix in.
*  Grate the lemon zest into the batter and mix. (It will look curdled – this is okay)
*  Mix in the flour and bicarbonate of soda.
* The dough will now be forming – it will be sticky.  Gather it together (you’ll need to use your hands) and then wrap it in cling film.  Put it in the fridge to chill for an hour or so.

* Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C.
* Grease and line two baking trays.
* After an hour, lightly flour the worktop and a rolling pin.  Take half of the gingerbread and lightly coat it with flour.  Roll it out to 1 – 1.5cm thick.  It WILL stick to the rolling pin – be patient.  The gingerbread will be softer and more delicious if you can retain the moisture.  If it is far too sticky, knead a little flour into the dough.
* Cut out gingerbread shapes, place onto tray and pop into the oven.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, rotating the tray at 8 minutes for an even bake.
* When baked, remove from the oven and add a Smartie to the centre of each flower (or add as buttons and eyes to gingerbread people, etc) whilst hot.  Leave to cool for five minutes on the tray, then remove to a cooling rack.  For a more grown-up look, add some cinnamon sugar to the top, or dust with a small amount of icing sugar.  I might dip them in some dark chocolate next time…

Celebration Carrot Cake (Sunderland AFC!)

The sugarpaste and royal icing Black Cats ‘cat’.

I LOVE a good excuse to make a birthday cake and, even better, this one was a very special birthday cake.  An 80th birthday cake for a stout Sunderland AFC supporter…
EIGHTY!
You’d NEVER know it.
So, we decided to make him a cake reflecting his unyielding support over eighty years!
The cake itself was a rum soaked carrot cake.  It was incredibly moist and possibly could have done with another couple of days before icing but time was short and of the essence.  The recipe I adapted was from PastryPal   and is by far the best carrot cake I have ever made.  I omit the bicarbonate of soda though, and halve the baking powder, using self-raising flour rather than plain.  I know lots of bakers hate self-raising but I prefer it – a lot of people dislike the strange aftertaste you get when using bicarb so self-raising cuts this out.  I then use half the stated amount of baking powder.

An eight inch rum soaked carrot cake… mmm

This was before I added the whites to his eyes!  I must dig out the light tent again – since the move, I can’t find it!  Anyhoo…

Here’s the recipe for two 8 inch sandwich tins:

162g (1 cup + 1 tbsp) light brown sugar
162g (1 cup + 1 tbsp) caster sugar (granulated, US)
226g (2 sticks) butter
4 eggs, room temperature, cracked and beaten gently.
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 small orange
300g (2 + 3/4 cups) self raising flour.
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda (if using)
1/2 tsp salt (omit if using lightly salted butter)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
400g (just under 3 cups) grated carrot
120 g (3/4 cup) golden sultanas
40g (1/4 cup) chopped dates / pineapple / walnuts / apricots (I used walnuts)
Couple of spoonfuls rum

Buttercream Frosting
200g (1 cup) butter
400g (3 + 1/3 cup) icing sugar (confectioner’s sugar)

1) Preheat your oven to 175 degrees C / 350 degrees F. (Use your oven thermometer!!)
2) Line a cake tin with baking parchment. Put your sultanas in the bowl and soak in rum for about an hour – longer if you can.
3) Beat your butter.  Beat it to within an inch of it’s life – scrape your bowl down in between.
4) Add the sugars.  BEAT them.  I beat for about 10 minutes, scraping down every couple of minutes.  Use an electric hand-mixer, a free-standing mixer or even brute strength, if you live with someone from the WWE.
5) Add the eggs in 4 stages.  In between, beat the hell out of the mixture to stop the mixture from curdling.  Most people say ‘don’t worry if it curdles’, but I’m a convert to the Women’s Institute method of patience and a Led Zeppelin style of “whole-lotta-love” at this stage.  If you want airy cakes, trust me on this.
6) Slowly mix in the zest of lemon and orange juice.
7) In a separate bowl, high-sift the flours, baking soda/powder, ginger and cinnamon.
8) Add the dry ingredients to the egg/sugar/butter mixture – fold in by hand.
9) Fold in carrots, nuts, fruit that you are using.
10) Fill your cake tins.
11) Bake for 40 minutes (cake).  It will be springy to the touch when done and starting to move away from the sides of the tin.  A skinny knife inserted into the centre should come out clean if it’s cooked.  I often find in my oven, cakes need longer, so I’ll just keep adding an extra five minutes until it’s starting to come away from the tin.  I also take a thermometer reading – aiming for 97 degrees C.
12) Leave to cool for 10 minutes in the tin, then transfer to a cooling rack.
13) Make your buttercream frosting.
14) Beat the hell out of the butter (if you don’t you will get lumps of butter in your icing).   Add the icing sugar and beat, beat, beat.  (This blog is SO violent!).
15) I spread buttercream in between each layer of cake and then crumb-coated it.  I refrigerated it for 30 minutes, then applied a second coat to achieve nice clean edges.  After that, I coloured and rolled my sugarpaste and covered the cake.  If you’re not sure how to do this there’s a great tutorial over at Paul Bradford‘s site.