Excellent Carrot Cake

Moist yet light and super easy to make. Keeps well (if you can resist).
Serves 10 - 12

Ingredients:
1 cup oil
2 cups raw or white sugar
4 small eggs
1 cup wholemeal flour
1 cup plain flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1 teaspoon ginger
3 cups grated carrot (2-3 medium size carrots)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon orange juice

Method:
Preheat oven to 160°C.
Grease a 23-25 cm round cake tin.
Put oil, sugar and eggs in food processor. Blitz to combine.
Add to the food processor wholemeal and plain flour, salt, cinnamon, mixed spice, ginger and carrot. Blitz just to combine.
Dissolve baking soda in orange juice then fold in to the mixture.
Pour mixture into cake tin and bake for 55 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Leave cake to cool before icing.

Cream cheese icing:
40 g soft butter
125 g cream cheese (not spreadable)
juice and finely grated rind of 1/2 lemon
2 cups icing sugar

Mix icing ingredients in food processor until smooth.

Note: original recipe suggested double the icing ingredients (or double the calories)!

Feeling creative? Combine a mixture of chopped nuts, seeds and dried fruit to sprinkle over the icing e.g. dried apricots, pumpkin seeds, pecans

Pickled Pork Slow Cooker

Serves 4 - 6 people


Ingredients:
approx 1.5 kg pickled pork
6 to 8 baby potatoes (or 3 - 4 large potatoes cut in half)
3 carrots cut into large chunks
pepper to taste (No salt)
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 tablespoon all purpose seasoning
1 teaspoon mixed herbs
250ml chicken stock liquid 


Method:Place all ingredients into slow cooker.
Cook on high for 3-4 hours.
Sauce can be thickened with a bit of corn flour if desired.
Serve with green vegetables.


TIPS:Other vegetables can be included in the slow cooker e.g. pumpkin, kumara, onions

Carrot cupcakes

For the cupcakes

• 130 g plain flour
• 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 215 g caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 175 ml vegetable oil, or any other neutral oil
• 65 g walnuts, chopped, plus extra to decorate
• 165 g carrots, grated (approximately 2 medium-large carrots)

For the icing

• 170 g thick cream cheese
• 65 g butter
• 125 g icing sugar
• 1/2 lemon, finely grated zest only
• 3/4 tbsp soured cream
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

For the cupcakes: preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line a cupcake pan or muffin tin with paper cases. 

2. Sift together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cinnamon and ½ tsp salt and set aside. 

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until thick and creamy. Slowly add the oil in a thin stream while whisking constantly. Fold in the dry ingredients, and once combined gently stir in the nuts and carrots. 

4. Divide the batter evenly among the paper cups and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre of one cupcake comes out clean. Place on a wire rack to cool. 

5. For the icing: in a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, butter, and icing sugar until the mixture is smooth and soft. Stir in the lemon zest, soured cream and vanilla extract. 

6. Pile the frosting into a piping bag and pipe it onto the cooled cupcakes. Decorate with the extra chopped walnuts before serving. 

Makes 12 cupcakes

Carrot Cake

Ingredients:
1/4 cup oil (eg peanut or sunflower)
1 cup apple sauce
1/4 cup low-fat milk
2 egg whites and 1 whole egg
1/2 cup flour
3-4 cup sugar
2 cups wholemeal flour
2 tsps baking powder, baking soda and vanilla essence
2 tsps cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp ground cloves
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cups chopped walnuts and raisins or chopped prunes
1 234g can pineapple crushed with juice

Method:

1. In a large bowl, beat together the oil, apple sauce, milk, egg whites and egg until well mixed.

2. In another bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmet and cloves. Make a well in the centre. Carefully pour the apple sauce mixture into the well in the dry ingredients and mix them together lightly with a holed spoon.

3. Add the carrots, walnuts, raisins, pineapple and vanilla. Pour mixture into a 23cm greased cake tin.

4. Bake for 60-70 minutes at 180 deg C. The cake is cooked when a skewer inserted comes out clean and the cake has come away form the side of the tin. This cake is very moist.

5. Allow the cake to cool 10 minutes before turning out and leaving the cake to cool on a cake
rack.

Topping:

1. In a food processor, put 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese, 3 tblspns low fat yoghurt, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 tblspn lemon juice, 1/4 cup cream cheese, and 3 tblspns icing sugar. Process until blended.

2. When the cake is cold, spread the topping over the cake and decorate with walnuts or grated lemon rind.