Is there carrot in carrot cake?

Hogzy · 08-03-2009 6:51pm #1

I dunno if im gonna be nominated for dumbass of the year but:

Is there carrot in carrot cake?

Faith · 08-03-2009 6:51pm

Yes.

copacetic · 08-03-2009 6:52pm

where do we put in the nominations?

DenMan · 08-03-2009 6:56pm

Yes there most certainly is (not a lot mind you). It is grated and added to the batter. Get's drowned out by flavour of the cinnamon. Some people put an awful lot of it in it.

Hogzy · 08-03-2009 6:58pm

just had some and could see absolutly no trace of orange bits and no taste of carrot!

kleefarr · 08-03-2009 7:00pm

Hogzy wrote: »

I dunno if im gonna be nominated for dumbass of the year but:

Is there carrot in carrot cake?

I do believe there is.
However, I'm not so sure about beatroot in chocolate cake.

Mr Magnolia · 08-03-2009 7:05pm

DenMan wrote: »

Yes there most certainly is (not a lot mind you). It is grated and added to the batter. Get's drowned out by flavour of the cinnamon. Some people put an awful lot of it in it.

The number of cakes, tarts and crumbles I've eaten that have been ruined by over use of cinnamon is unbelievable. Blasphemy!

And yes, plenty of carrot in my carrot cake please.

rubadub · 08-03-2009 7:41pm

Why did you think it was called carrot cake?

Mince pies is always one that bugged me. I know mincing is just something done, i.e. you could mince chicken or meat or veg etc. But it is often called mincemeat.

Seems it did used to have meat
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mince_pie

By the 16th century mince or "shred" pie was considered a Christmas speciality, although in the 17th century, Oliver Cromwell made the eating of mince pies on Christmas Day illegal. (This law was voted fourth "most ridiculous British law" in a 2007 poll.)

Sam Kade · 08-03-2009 7:56pm

Hogzy wrote: »

I dunno if im gonna be nominated for dumbass of the year but:

Is there carrot in carrot cake?

You could have saved yourself being nominated dumbass of the year if you had done a simple google search first.;)

The Sweeper · 08-03-2009 8:55pm

It's not the worst question in the world.

"Are there Jamaicans in Jamaican Ginger Cake" would have been worse.

copacetic · 08-03-2009 9:04pm

Minesajackdaniels wrote: »

It's not the worst question in the world.

"Are there Jamaicans in Jamaican Ginger Cake" would have been worse.

not as bad as

'are there gingers in Jamaica?'

Faith · 08-03-2009 9:27pm

Mr Magnolia wrote: »

The number of cakes, tarts and crumbles I've eaten that have been ruined by over use of cinnamon is unbelievable. Blasphemy!

Nonsense, it's not possible to overuse cinnamon!

Curvy Vixen · 12-03-2009 12:00pm

kleefarr wrote: »

I do believe there is.
However, I'm not so sure about beatroot in chocolate cake.

Er yeah!! And it's absolutely fab

:D

Chocolate Beetroot Cake
Serves 16
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 2 hours
305 calories per slice
Ingredients
• 250g good-quality dark chocolate
• 3 medium free-range eggs
• 250g light muscovado sugar
• 1 vanilla pod, cut in half lengthways and seeds scraped out
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons clear honey
• 40g self-raising flour
• 40g plain flour
• 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 25g cocoa powder
• 50g ground almonds
• 250g raw beetroot, peeled and finely grated
• 100ml strong black coffee
• 30ml sunflower oil
For the topping
• 150g good-quality dark chocolate
• 3 tablespoons strong black coffee
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 3 tablespoons clear honey

How to make beetroot chocolate fudge cake
Preheat a conventional oven to 160ºC, or a fan-assisted one to 140ºC. With the help of a brush and a tiny bit of sunflower oil, grease the surface of a round 20cm diameter by 8cm high loose-bottomed tin and set aside.
Melt the chocolate gently in a bowl over a pan of simmering water until all dissolved, then set aside to cool.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar, the scraped-out vanilla seeds, the maple syrup and the honey for three minutes with an electric hand whisk until pale and quite fluffy.
Gently fold in the flours, bicarbonate of soda, salt, cocoa and ground almonds until fully incorporated.
Using some kitchen paper, dab the grated beetroot thoroughly to remove some of the excess moisture. Fold in the beetroot, cooled chocolate, coffee and oil with the help of a spatula until thoroughly mixed together.
Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and cook in the middle of the oven for 1 hour 30 minutes. After this time, cover the cake with foil and bake for another 30 minutes.
Test the cake by inserting a skewer into the centre to see if it comes out clean (although this cake is so moist that even when the cake is fully cooked, the skewer comes out looking slightly messy). Leave to cool on a wire rack.
To make the fudge topping, melt the chocolate gently in a bowl over a pan of simmering water, then remove from the heat and add the coffee and the vanilla essence.
At this stage the chocolate will seize up slightly, but it will relax back once you add the honey and gently mix in.
Set aside to cool for 15 minutes before icing the cake. Cut the cake through the middle and ice it in the centre and on all sides.
Decorate the top with whatever you fancy, but I like using pink flowers, such as tulips or roses, which I plant into the cake with a bit of stem left on.
Harry's Tips
Leave yourself plenty of time to make this cake because it is quite a lengthy recipe.
The cake is best eaten when it is still slightly warm. It is also really important to ice it at the last minute or the icing can lose its shine.
However, it would freeze beautifully providing you put it away before icing. Simply defrost when needed and ice at the last minute.