Sunday 25 September 2011

Traditional Scottish Carrot Cake



225g wholemeal flour
225g brown sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
Half a cup melted butter or oil
4 eggs
Half cup chopped walnuts
400g finely grated carrot
Zest of an orange

Ingredients for Icing:
225g icing sugar
85g cream cheese (under half a cup)
One teaspoon vanilla essence (extract)
85g butter (Three quarters of a cup)

Method:
Mix the dry ingredients together and then add the walnuts and carrots, mixing well. Beat the eggs and them and the butter (or oil) and mix well. Pour the mixture into two, one pound rectangular loaf tins or one, two pound loaf tin. A nine inch round cake tin can also be used.
Bake for an hour in a pre-heated oven at 180C
Make the icing by beating the ingredients together and, once the cake has cooled, decorate the top and the side with the icing.

Sunday 4 September 2011

Granola





Ingredients

2 tbsp vegetable oil

125ml maple syrup

2 tbsp honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

300g rolled oats

50g sunflower seeds

4 tbsp sesame seeds

50g pumpkin seeds

100g flaked almonds

100g dried berries (find them in the baking aisle)

50g coconuts flakes or desiccated coconut

Heat oven to 150C. Mix the oil, maple syrup, honey and vanilla in a large bowl. Tip in all the remaining ingredients, except the dried fruit and coconut, and mix well.

Tip the granola onto two baking sheets and spread evenly. Bake for 15 mins, then mix in the coconut and dried fruit, and bake for 10-15 mins more. Remove and scrape onto a flat tray to cool. Serve with cold milk or yogurt. The granola can be stored in an airtight container for up to a month.


Syrup version 2

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

85g honey

55g light brown sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract