Domestic pleasures

Filled with the excitement that the bridge across the Pakuratahi Stream bringing us one step closer to our dream home, I decided to celebrate and bake a cake. This simple domestic pleasure often seems like a nightmare because cakes have never really been my thing.

Although I have acquired new muffin making skills I've been a bit wary about tackling a cake which wasn't a christmas cake. Suffice to say that this deep rooted fear has come from a dreadful failure with a victoria sandwich cake when I was about 14!

Not wishing to take too much of a risk I took the recipe of my good friend Sarah who is a bit of a whizz in the kitchen and assured me this would be doodle. And she was right. Both him indoors, a bit of a cake Connoisseur, gave it the thumbs up and there was lots of rapture in the office this morning when I brought the remains in for morning tea.

In the spirit of sharing with my kiwi adventures, here's the recipe for New Zealand Moist Carrot Cake with acknowledgement to Sarah who was the inspiration for another domestic pleasure. Now all I need is some more recipes for other cakes, any suggestions?


New Zealand Moist Carrot Cake
Makes an 8 inch (20 cm) cake

9oz (250g) wholemeal self-raising flour
6oz (175g) raw sugar (muscovado or Barbados)
6oz (175g) soft brown sugar)
3 x medium eggs
6 fl oz (175ml) sunflower oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla essence
Approx 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 level teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
½ teaspoon salt
11oz (300g) grated carrots
3 oz (75g) desiccated coconut

For the topping
1 small tub of full fat cream cheese
A couple of drops of pure vanilla essence
Icing sugar

Pre-heat oven to gas mark2, 300°F (150°C).
You will need one 8 inch (20cm) round cake tin (lined with baking parchment) and two mixing bowls.

Method
In the first mixing bowl, you place the eggs, oil and vanilla essence, then sieve the sugars into it as well (to avoid any lumps). Into the other bowl you sift the flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, soda and salt.

Now beat the wet ingredients and the sugars together, then fold in the dry ingredients, followed by the carrots and coconut. Mix well to distribute everything evenly, then spoon into the cake tin and bake on the centre shelf for 1½ to 2 hours.

To make the topping, make sure the full fat cream cheese is at room temperature. Add a couple of drops of pure vanilla essence, then beat in icing sugar until the topping is stiff enough to spread, tasting to check it is sweet enough.

When the cake is cool, spread the topping thickly all over the top and refrigerate the cake until you are ready to serve.

Note that the cake freezes well without the topping.