Carrot Cake anyone?

So i turned a year older and whole of Monday i was sitting and brooding about it. Not only did i brood, I also called up Ro at noon and bawled my eyes out. Oh yes, I did! Now why would you sulk on your birthday? I'll tell you. I was getting a year older and had absolutely no clue as to what i wanted to do in life, 2, this woman I've been working for over a year, and who hadn't paid me as yet, decided to not respond to mails and calls for over 3 months, but exactly on my birthday she decides to reply accusing me of not understanding the situation..what situation? I don't know..she hasn't mentioned that still. So then we start this thread on gmail and that left me angry, helpless and irritated at not being able to do anything from here. I don't get paid and have to bear the brunt too? Ridiculous! And then, it happened to be that wretched time of the month and I was in pain. Altogether it just turned out to be a horrible day. Come evening and i decided to take a hot water bath, slumbered for about an hour and was all fresh and ready to partay...yup Ro and myself decided to try out the new Mexican restaurant Wahaca and then had after dinner cocktails at Smollenskys. I'll review it later, but for now here's a carrot cake- mom's special- which i was craving for and wanted to bake on my birthday, but as you can imagine, circumstances didn't agree with me. So i made it the next day.

Ro hates carrot cake (Its more like a mental block i guess...that carrots in a cake wont taste good). So I thought I'll trick him into eating saying it was an apple and cinnamon cake. He was too smart and noticed the grated carrots from afar and refused to touch it. No issues, i can eat the whole thing on my own...in a matter of days. This cake is super super moist and, i must add, is the only carrot cake i have ever liked. I hate the ones we get here. I have halved the measurements because i knew i would be the only one gorging on it.

Grated carrot- 1 1/2 cups

All purpose flour- 1 cup

Powdered sugar- 1 cup + enough for dusting

Baking powder- 1/2 tsp

Baking soda- 1/2 tsp

Egg- 1

Oil- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (Its a half of 1 1/4 cups)

Spice powder- 1/2 tsp (recipe follows)

Salt- a pinch

Spice powder: Grind to a fine powder, 1 cardamom pod, 1 clove and a pinch of cinnamon using a pestle and mortar or a spice grinder.

Preheat oven to 175C and butter an 8 inch cake tin.

Sieve the flour, spice pwd, baking pwd, baking soda and salt. Keep aside.

Beat the eggs, add powdered sugar and cream till light and fluffy.

Add the carrot and oil and beat on high for a few minutes.

Finally, add the flour mix and beat on low, just till they are all mixed well. Don't over do this.

Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes or till a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Take it out of the oven and cool for about 5 minutes. Insert onto a serving tray and dust some powdered sugar on it while its still hot. Serve with a dollop of cream or have it just as it is.

Notes: I was way too lazy and so i picked up grated carrots from the supermarket and used that directly. My mom actually grinds it to a purée form which i think gives a bright orange colour and mine lacked that. Also, if you don't like small carrot pieces, purée is a better option.

I made only a wee bit of spice powder, just enough for the cake. You can adjust ingredients according to you taste and make them in plenty and store in an air tight container

I baked the cake on 175C for about 30 minutes and then reduced it to 160 and baked for another 15 minutes. It all depends on the oven, so just keep an eye out to prevent it from burning.


UPDATE:

A lot of you guys out there tried out my moms version of the carrot cake and wrote back to me with some queries. Since it had been ages since I'd tried my moms version, I couldn't remember the logistics of it. So I made it again recently and  thought I'd update it with my current findings and pics of course. The cake is dense/ heavy because you use puréed carrots. If its the light version you are looking for, then replace the pureed carrots with finely grated carrots and you'd get the cake that you see in the pics above. The cake is rich on its own and its more of a dessert cake than a tea time speciality. I feel it would pair well with a scoop of ice cream or cream cheese (not frosted though) on the side.

Pureed carrot- 1 1/2 cups
Milk/ water- 2 tsp (optional)

All purpose flour- 1 cup

Powdered sugar- 1 cup + enough for dusting

Baking powder- 1/2 tsp

Baking soda- 1/2 tsp

Egg- 1

Oil- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (Its a half of 1 1/4 cups)

Spice powder- 1/2 tsp (Grind to a fine powder, 1 cardamom pod, 1 clove and two pinches of cinnamon  powder using a pestle and mortar or a spice grinder.)

Salt- a pinch

(notice the colour difference)

Puree the carrot with 2 tsp of milk or water. Use milk only if you feel the carrots are not releasing enough water. If its watery avoid it. I usually dont add milk.

Preheat oven to 175C and butter an 8 inch cake tin.

Sieve the flour, spice pwd, baking pwd, baking soda and salt. Keep aside.

Beat the eggs, add powdered sugar and cream till light and fluffy.

Add the carrot and oil and beat on high for a few minutes.

Finally, add the flour mix and beat on low, just till they are all mixed well. Don't over do this.

Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes or till a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Take it out of the oven and cool for about 5 minutes. Insert onto a serving tray and dust some powdered sugar on it while its still hot. Serve with a dollop of cream or have it just as it is.

I would also like to thank Cicily of Spices from the Queen of Arabian Sea for passing on a lovely award. Thanks a lot once again. I am supposed to tag 7 people and since I am new to the whole blogging scene, I shall avoid that. Anyone can pick it up...I follow a whole buncha awesome blogs and they are all exceptionally good:)

Now the 7 things about me...hmm..just 7? why just 7?

I am so bloody lazy and would stay in bed and watch movies all day, given a choice. Being sent to a foreign country was gods way of punishing me for my laziness...Now i have to get off my ass and do everything on my own (not really..i have an incredible husband who loves doing chores around the house, including cooking)

I am a movie-buff...and can watch a minimum of three at a stretch. I have the unlimited card at the cinemas here and so watch atleast 3 movies a week if i haven't seen the ones already released.

I love the gloomy, rainy weather UK is known for..I know everyone complains about it, but i think its awesome.

I am crazy about clothes and shoes and bags and shopping in general and don't want to reveal how many pairs of shoes i have. Being in London hasn't helped much. I can spend a whole day at Selfridge's or Sloane street just gawking at the brands and wish for the millionth time id married a rich man (don care even if he's old) or was earning enough to afford these.

I'm scared of ghosts..really (i think they exist)..but love watching horror movies..I have a hard time sleeping at night and so my husband has banned them at home. I still manage to watch them at the cinemas.

I am so liberal when it comes to traditions and ways of thinking, the older generation detest me and sometimes I'm too fast for even the younger generation. Although they wonder why i got married when I'm all for the 'living together' aspect. Ro tricked me;)

I have ornithophobia (sounds fancy right?). I am so so scared of anything with feathers. And i am in the perfect place...London, where pigeons nest in every possible corner..and the parks..i have to play hop, skip, dodge all the freaking time. I don't mind eating them though (evil laugh!)

Phew! Long post..i need to lie down.