Magnificent March has almost departed & true to form, it’s definitely been “in like a lion & out like a lamb”! Looking out into the garden at the blue skies, bright sunshine & bud-laden plants, it’s hard to believe that only a couple of weeks ago the willow tree was being whipped around in a frenzy of foliage by a ravaging wind, blowing away the Winter cobwebs & bringing a breath of fresh Spring! Now things have settled down a bit, the trees & plants who defiantly hung onto their buds & tiny leaves are ready to bloom in the coming weeks.
The Spring Equinox inspired me to make more sugar flowers, including some delicate daffodils & a few tulips, along with a few chocolate bunnies. If you’ve seen my social media recently, you’ll know I’ve been making modelling chocolate & sugar creations for Mother’s Day & Easter (which is approaching at warp speed!). Cue several cute bunnies, golden yellow daffodils, pretty roses & heavenly heels! As I don’t have any moulds or templates, I 
just used a pair of my shoes as a visual guide, then had a play around until I got the style I wanted. The pink one contains the most modelling chocolate, mixed with a little fondant to create that pretty pink hue. The hardest part for me is giving them away & knowing someone might actually eat them (I can’t even think about that!).
Although Spring is a bit unpredictable at times, it’s also a sign of better days to come. One of those days is the perfect pinnacle of the month, the day we celebrate our Mums & how amazing they are. It’s not always easy to see what they do for us (we’ve all been a petulant teenager who’s pushed the boundaries a bit), so we should show them our appreciation (we should show it every day, but on this day just a little bit more). What better way to show your appreciation than by baking a beautiful cake for her! This oil-free, rich moist carrot cake recipe came from an afternoon of experimenting with another one of my cakes, resulting in a beautifully light, fluffy & fragrant treat. Lightly spiced, this delicate beauty is perfect for Mother’s Day & let’s face it, Mum should be treated to something special. Usually, a carrot cake is decorated with a few fondant carrots, but I wanted to make this different so add a few sugar blooms & blossoms to mine as it’s a celebration cake. It is really easy to make (I’ve made several, just to be sure) & would be a lovely addition to an afternoon tea for your Mum. Ready to bake it happen? Hands washed & aprons on, here we go!
What you need:
6oz Self-Raising Flour (plus a little extra for your tins)
6oz Unsalted Butter, at room temp (plus a little extra for your tins)
4oz Vanilla Sugar (pop a vanilla pod in a jar of sugar & leave overnight)
2oz Golden Syrup
3 medium Carrots, grated (about 200g)
Quarter of a heaped teaspoon Ground Ginger
Quarter of a heaped teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1 heaped teaspoon Baking Powder
3 large Eggs
100g Walnut Pieces
For the Buttercream Filling:
5oz Unsalted Butter
10oz Icing Sugar
Just under 1/4 teaspoon each of Ground Ginger & Cinnamon
Decorations:
9 Walnut Halves, Sugar Flowers or Fondant Carrots (most supermarkets sell these ready made or you could make your own – see further down the recipe for fondant carrot help)
What to do:
Firstly, pre-heat the oven to 170*C & prepare three 7 inch sandwich cake tins (this means you have three ready-made layers & no fiddly cake cutting).
Rub a little butter all around each tin, ensuring it goes all up the sides & then shake a little flour into them, coating all the butter & tip away the excess. Cut out circles of greaseproof paper the same size as your tin base & pop them inside the tin, ready for your cake mix to go on top. Set them aside.
Wash & peel the carrots, then grate (I use the attachment on my food processor). Place on a dry cloth (cheesecloth, muslin or an old clean tea towel will do) & squeeze out the excess moisture. Set aside. (I use an old white tea towel & boil wash it so it doesn’t stain).
Do yourself a favour & measure the sugar, syrup & butter into the same mixing bowl, as they will be mixed together – that way, you’re not trying to scrape syrup out of another bowl & won’t get in a sticky mess (trust me on this!). It’s less washing up too.
Whip up the sugar, syrup & butter together using an electric mixer, until fluffy & a pale cream colour.
Add one egg at a time & beat into the mixture well with the mixer, until all the eggs are combined.
Mix the flour, baking powder, Ginger & Cinnamon together & sift into the wet mixture, then fold together using a spatula or large spoon – stir in a figure of eight around the bowl, ensuring everything is fully combined. Folding will keep all the lovely air you’ve whipped into the mixture.
Add the carrots & walnuts, stirring gently into the mixture.
Divide into your prepared sandwich tins & bake in the centre of the oven for approximately 20-22 minutes, until risen & golden brown on top. To test if your cakes are cooked, poke a stem of dried spaghetti into the centre & if it comes out clean, your cakes are done.
Remove your cakes from the oven & place on a cooling rack. Run a palette knife around the edge of the cake tin to release the cake, then gently transfer onto your cooling rack. Remove the paper carefully from the base of your cake by pulling it back on itself slowly.
Leave your cakes to cool completely before filling & decorating – the cooler they are, the easier they are to handle.
While they are cooling, time to make the buttercream. Beat the butter in a bowl with a spatula until smooth & silky, then slowly tip in all the icing sugar & spices.
Press the sugar into the butter, turning your bowl as you go, until you have a smooth but firm buttercream. You might need a minute here, because it does make your arms ache a bit, but it’s better than a cloud of sugar! Scoop into a piping bag ready for piping. If you don’t have a piping bag, just use a little sandwich bag with the corner cut off.
Splodge a little buttercream in the centre of a serving plate, or a pretty dinner plate big enough for your cake, then place your first cake layer onto this.
Pipe small swirls around the edge of the cake – if you’re not sure about using a nozzle, just use the plain bag & pipe little splodges around the edge to make an outer circle.
Fill the centre of the circle with buttercream, smoothing over to cover the cake.
Place the next cake layer on top, then repeat until you have a clean layer of cake on top. Here’s a little tip: if your top layer of cake is a bit uneven on top, flip it over – the bottom will be flat & smooth, then you have a lovely even surface, perfect for decorating (you’re welcome!).
Pipe a small swirl in the centre of your cake & top with either a walnut half, little fondant carrots or sugar flowers. Repeat around the edge of the cake at intervals (I usually do 8 around the edge & one in the middle).
As you can see from my cake, I made some sugar flowers along with fondant carrots & a little chocolate bunny. You can buy sugar flowers & fondant carrots ready made, but they are also lots of fun to make. Get some pretty coloured fondant or sugar paste (most supermarkets sell these), a few fine tipped paintbrushes & have a go!
To make little fondant carrots, you will need some orange fondant & a little green fondant too. Roll little fat sausages of orange in your hand to about an inch long, then roll one end slightly thinner. Use a fork to make grooves around your carrots, then poke a little hole in the fatter top end (this is for your leaves).
Roll the green fondant into a very thin long strip, then cut into short strips & bunch a few together to make your leaves. Dot a tiny spot of water into the hole in your carrot top, then push the green leaves in gently. You can either leave them to set for about an hour or put on your cake now.
That’s it! Your fragrant & fluffy carrot cake is ready to be placed in the centre of the table, ready for Mum to have a slice! If you’re not serving your cake straightaway, simply pop it into an airtight container or cake tin to keep it fresh for later. A personal gift of handmade cake is something your Mum will cherish. Wishing you all a wonderful Mother’s Day! Stay hungry! A 😉 x