Carrot Cake Murder

It's not that I've suddenly turned morbid, but this is actually the title of a book. And I can prove it, so there! Amazingly I spotted this book on the library shelf just after I'd made the culprit on its front cover, so I knew I had to blog this. I haven't read the book at all by the way.

Fresh from the oven

This is probably among my favouritest cakes on my cakes-to-bake list. Which is a little surprising considering I usually detest carrots. As in Hate with a capital 'H'. However, I have been convinced to forego any homicidal thoughts towards those evil orange veges ever since the carrot cake redeemed them.

The combined ingredients make for a really moist bite with some added texture thrown in by the pineapple and walnuts within. Yummm. It can be made with cream cheese on top but I opted not to so I could convince myself I wasn't wreaking havoc on my diet.

The recipe I have is from my friend Sue Ann, so all the credit for how good it tastes should go to her=)

My slice of cake posing prettily

Carrot Cake (with Cream Cheese Frosting)

Ingredients

Cake
3 cups grated carrots
2 cups flour
2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
¾ cup walnuts/pecans
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4 eggs
½ cup oil
1 ¼ tsp vanilla
1 can crushed pineapple

Frosting
3 ½ cup icing sugar
225mg cream cheese
1 ¼ tsp vanilla
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)


Method

1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

2. In a large bowl, combine grated carrots, flour, white sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt & cinnamon.

3. Stir in eggs, oil, 1 ¼ tsp vanilla, pineapple & ¾ cup chopped pecan/walnuts. Spoon batter into pan.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 30-40mins or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

5. Frosting – In a medium bowl, combine icing sugar, cream cheese, ½ cup butter & 1 ¼ tsp vanilla. Beat till smooth, then stir in chopped nuts. Spread on cooled cake.

As a note to the terrorist bear-bear: I know you're disappointed that I would ever stoop to the level of eating the forbidden vege. Therefore, I will need to convert you to my cause by baking this cake for you the next time I visit.
May the Force be with you

Like a ton of bricks

There have been so many happenings lately that baking took a seat on the back burner for quite a while. Also, honestly, I think I just wasn't quite in the mood to jump start my mixer and whip up a batch of batter. Which, interestingly, is good for the recipe I'm about to post.

The newfound morsel that dragged me out of my lazy state was a migrant from back home. I'm embarrassed to say I'd never actually eaten it while staying my couple of decades in Malaysia. Once I had a bite of it though, I was just itching to make it! I not only like how it tastes, but also it's appearance. To top it all off, it's amazingly easy to make and requires absolutely zero baking, (Wow!) hence the comment above about this recipe being good if you can't be bothered to get out the mixing bowl. (Yay for lazy people)

The cake in question today is the Kek Batik. A little bit of a misnomer, since it never ventures near an oven. I think it's sometimes called Kuih Batik too, but don't take my word for it. As you can see, it looks like those higgledy-piggledy brick walls in the old English country side. For those not in the know, Batik is a traditional Malay art which involves the drawing of intricate patterns on cloth. I should actually include a photo of it in here, just for interests sake.



Back to the cook book, the entire cake making process involves simply chucking Marie biscuits into a rich chocalatey mixture, bringing to boil over a slow fire and then squashing it (in a very literal sense) into the required cake dish to cool. After which, pop it into the refridgerator for a couple of hours and the next thing you know, you'll be the proud owner of a freshly made cake.

Cut the cake with a sharp knife to appreciate the emerging patterns formed by the layers of biscuits squashed together.

It somehow reminds me of the Great Wall of China. *Haha*

Kek Batik

Ingredients

3/4 stick of butter
2 eggs (beaten)
1 cup water
1 small tin condensed milk
10 tbsp milo
3 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp sugar
2 packets of Marie biscuits


Method

1. First break the Marie biscuits into halves and set aside
2. In a good sized pot, melt the butter on medium heat over the stove
3. Turn the fire to low and add in the eggs, stirring vigoroulsy to avoid clumping.
4. Add in all the other ingredients except the Marie biscuits while stirring the mixture continuosly.
5. When the mixture is shiny, add in the biscuits and keep stirring till the biscuits have become soft but still maintain their shape. Don't forget to keep stirring!
6. Once all the biscuits have been coated with chocolate and are suitably mushy, pour into a cake tin.
7. Leave to cool for 5-10 minutes. Put a sheet of cling wrap over the top of your cake and press down to compress all the softened biscuits, forming a 'layered' cake. Once the cake has been evenly squashed into the tin, peel off the cling wrap and discard.
8. Wait for the cake to cool further and pop it into the refridgerator for 3-4 hours. I was predictably impatient and stuffed it into the freezer after the first hour to speed up the process.

Food imitating life. Doesn't it look just like the bricked wall?