Let's Bake! // Carrot Cake

Hi all!!!

As promised, this is now week 2 of my Let's Bake Blogs!!

The lemon and poppy seed friands I made last week went down an absolute treat at home. Meaning I ate 2 and Craig decided to snaffle the rest! He's a friand monster!!

So this week the baking challenge was carrot cake!!
Now please bear in mind I am not a great fan of carrot cake and have never made one in my life. But it turned out amazingly well!!

The sponge was fragrant and soft with just the right amount of spice and the frosting on top was creamy and fluffy.

There isn't really much else to say regarding this recipe. The quantities were spot on and the finished product was lovely with a nice cup of tea.

The recipe I worked from

The finished article!!!

Now there is a great chance that the soft cheese frosting could have been a little stiffer, however I think as it was a little softer, the finished cake gives the appearance of american iced cupcakes which is sort of cute! I opted not to fill the middle of the cake with the frosting as my mum does not eat frosting and I really wanted her to try some. Luckily, the cake was really nice and moist and so the sponge did not go dry or taste clarty! 

If you are looking for a gorgeous carrot cake recipe than this one is definitely a hit with me! 

What shall I bake next week guys?

Leave me a comment down below with your suggestions and i'll be sure to comment and try and make as many as I can in the upcoming weeks!

xx

A Little Bit Of A Giggle...

As some of you may or may not be aware, I am part of an independant theatre company in Mansfield called Zodiac Theatre.  So this post from is from us, in hope that we can bring some joy and some laughter into your Friday & Saturday night!! I
t is that time of year again where in 10 days time, Zodiac Theatre company will be opening the doors of their performance space for our next show.

In contrast to what we have done previously and themes we have previously been a custom too, as a group we listened to your comments regarding something maybe a little more light hearted this time. Something not as dark and sinister!

So with that we are pleased to bring you, Imaginary Lines...

Do you ever have that want or that need to imagine how certain conversations or actions may unfold in front of you? Do you ever hope that an experience will go just the way you imagine it in your own head? Well even if you don't, these characters do!
Come with us on a humorous look through the lives and times of our five characters. Who know's what the play has in store for them!

Zodiac will be performing at Create Theatre, West Notts College on 24th & 25th July 2015. Doors will be opening at 7pm with the show starting at 7:30pm. With only a two night performance schedule, be sure to ring 07403018430 to reserve your tickets now!

Our Facebook Page! Please Like And Keep Checking For More Show Updates!

We would all love to see you there so much! So if you enjoy theatre, have a free night or are looking from some light hearted comedy, please come along and lose yourself, in Imaginary Lines!!

Let's Bake // Lemon & Poppy Seed Friand!

Hello all!!!!

So university is nearly over for me, I have a few holidays at work and for my birthday in May, Craig bought me a lovely new toy to play with! So whilst I could just bake goods for us and eat them, I have decided to do a weekly segment on my blog where I show you what I bake in the coming weeks!

Now disclaimer, I am not a good baker. I can cook well. Very well, but I cannot bake for the life of me!! I will share with you the good AND the bad if it comes to it (hopefully not as I am really trying to get it right). If a recipe goes wrong, I will show you the aftermath. If things look nice but taste gross, I will tell you. Either way you will be able to witness my awful baking and appreciate it for what it is... a lesson learned!

The inspiration behind my weekly baking comes from a new recipe book I purchased at Costco Wholesale about  a week ago. It is this Retro baking book, published by woman's weekly australia. In it are hundreds of recipes for cakes, tarts, biscuits, breads and all things sweet!

My beautiful mixer

I decided to start with something I have never tried before and definitely have never attempted to make, Lemon & Poppy Seed Friands.

From The Retro Baking Book

What is a Friand you say? I didn't know until I researched into the recipes myself! A Friend is a small, light french cake, traditionally made with ground almonds and melted butter. Little flour is used to create a fluffy and light base. Many different flavours can be used in a Friand, ranging from fruity drizzles to sweet toppings of melted chocolate.

Now in the instructions it says to beat gently with a wooden spoon, but I do not own a wooden spoon. So i decided to defy the instruction and use the beating tool on my mixer. I used it on the slowest setting and with a slow bowl rotation to try and mimic a hand beaten texture. I know this will upset many bakers and for that I am sorry!!!!! One day i promise I will invest in a wooden spoon to beat things with!

And this is how they turned out!

 The friends turned out rather well considering I did't know what one was until I started baking them! They are lovely to eat with a lemon icing glaze and sprinkle of icing sugar on top! It says to eat them whilst they are warm and that is that best advice with these little beauties. As the mixture contains lemon rind, every so often you get a lovely burst of citrus alongside the almond flavoured sponge.

After a sneaky bite!

It would be rude of me not to show you the inside of the cake!! A light fluffy centre full of taste and flavour. The only bad thing about these is the amount of pure sugar went into making them! But for my weekly treat, I guess I can overlook that!

Baking Week 1 has been a success!!! Next week by popular demand, aka Craigs demand, I am making my first every carrot cake!!

Hopefully it will look like this beauty!!!!

Thanks for reading guys and keep checking back for more baking updates!
Have you ever had a friand? Let me know in the comments below!

Bye xxx