So, the last couple of months have been crazy exciting with too much going on so the blog was put to the side.
In April, I got a new job in Derry that I LOVE!! Whilst settling into my new job I was also planning my wedding and Conor and I got married in July!
We had such a fab day at our wedding! Everything went so well and the whole day was really relaxed. While some people would love to get married all over again... I'm good. We have a brilliant day but I wouldn't fancy doing all the organising again! lol.
Back to normal life now as Mrs Lynch and possibly better than before because this Mrs Lynch also has a Magimix Food Processor and a KitchenAid Mixer (Thank you Nuala, Grainne and Niamh)!! Amazing!
So for my first bake back I was keen to use my new food processor and mixer and every last inch of workspace I have in my kitchen (Conor dislikes when I do this but it's too late for him now! lol).
I made Carrot Cake. I've always wanted to make carrot cake but the thought of grating the carrots has always put me off. Not a problem now! Carrot cake is one of my absolute faves - the spices, the nuts, the moist sponge and the creamy icing - amazing!
So this recipe is one of Jamie Olivers. I made the lime mascarpone icing too and... I don't know if it is really necessary. I think next time I might make it without the lime.
Ingredients
For the Cake
250g unsalted butter, softened
250g light brown soft sugar
5 large eggs, separated
1 orange, zest and juice
170g self-raising flour, sifted
1 slightly heaped teaspoon of baking powder
100g ground almonds
100g shelled walnuts
1 heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
250g carrots, coarsely grated
sea salt
For the Icing
100g mascarpone cheese
200g full fat cream cheese
85g icing sugar
2 limes, zest and juice
Method
1. Preheat over to 180C / Gas Mark 4.
2. Prep your cake tin - grease and line a 22cm round tin.
3. Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. You can do this by hand or if you are trying to use new gadgets, you can do it in a food processor!
4. Beat the egg yolks into the creamy butter one at a time and then add the orange zest and juice.
5. Stir in the sifted flour, baking powder, almonds, walnuts, spices and carrots.
At this point, stuff got messy!! Yes, i have a fancy food processor and mixer but what I don't have is a big mixing bowl... My medium bowl was at capacity but I managed... Then it got worse!
6. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of sea salt until stiff and then fold gently into the cake mix.
Cake mix everywhere!! This was difficult as my bowl was too small. The bowl was a mess, the counter was a mess, my hands were a mess... it was all pretty messy! (I should have taken a photo at this stage for giggles!). I also think I wasn't gentle enough in folding the egg whites in which meant the cake wasn't as light as it should have been. Lesson for the future!
7. Pour the cake mix into the cake tins and pop into the oven for around 50 mins. My cake needed another 10 mins in the oven. Just put a skewer into the middle of the cake to make sure it is cooked through. Once cooked let it chill.
8. Put all the ingredients for the icing into a bowl and mix well. Once the cake has cooled completely, spread over the top of the cakes and if you like, sprinkle a some of the walnuts on top.
I got good feedback from this bake, although Conor didn't like the creamy icing. My work colleagues loved it and so did I!
