Carrot and Banana Cake

Mmm... I found this recipe in the Women's Weekly "Bake" cookbook. I had some overripe bananas and I was looking for some recipes that had something healthy in them (trying to sneak an extra vegie into the kids). I'm hoping to try a zucchini loaf soon. This one jumped out as it had carrot as well as banana.

We all enjoyed it so much that I thought I would use it in the Recipe Swap Box by I Have To Say...

Carrot and Banana Cake
from The Women's Weekly - "Bake"

Preparation Time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 1 hr 15 mins (+ cooling time)
Serves: 10

1 1/4 cups (185g) plain flour
1/2 cup (75g) self-raising flour
1 teaspon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (220g) firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup (80g) coarsely chopped roasted walnuts
3 eggs
2 cups (480g) coarsely grated carrot
1 cup (460g) mashed banana
1 cup (250ml) vegetable oil

Cream Cheese Frosting
90g cream cheese
90g butter, softened
1 cup (160g) icing sugar

Preheat oven to 170oC/150oC fan-forced. Grease base and side of 24cm round springform tin, line base with baking paper.

Sift flours, soda, spices and sugar into large bowl. Stir in nuts, eggs, carrot, banana and oil. Pour into tin.

Bake cake about 1 1/4 hours. Cool cake in tin.

Meanwhile, make cream cheese frosting. Top cake with frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
Beat cream cheese and butter in small bowl with electric mixer until as white as possible, gradually beat in sifted icing sugar.

Golden Syrup Biscuits

A girlfriend and I arranged to get together at my house the other day and when I went to make something yummy for us to munch on, I realised I didn't have any eggs. I flicked through my new copy of The Women's Weekly "Bake" and found "Maple Syrup Butter Cookies" which didn't require any eggs. Only I didn't have maple syrup either. Not to worry, I used Golden Syrup instead. They were very yummy and I've made them about three times since, including Saturday's batch some in the photo below.

Maple-Syrup butter cookes

125g butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup (80ml) maple syrup (130g golden syrup)
3/4 cup (110g) plain flour
1/4 cup (35g) cornflour

Preheat oven to 18OOc/160Oc fan-forced. Grease oven trays; line with baking paper.

Beat butter, extract and maple syrup in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy; stir in sifted flours.

Drop teaspoon sized balls onto trays.

Bake cookies about 15 mins. Cool on trays.

Jam Drops

I borrowed "500 Cookies" recipe book by Philippa Vanstone on Friday from the local library. I love making biscuits almost as much as I love making cupcakes. The beauty of biscuits is that they are instantly gratifying. Ususally takes only about 10 mins to make then about the same in the oven. Cool for a couple of minutes and then pop one in the mouth!! I think I liked the strawberry jam over the apricot jam but as the recipe made 2 dozen it was nice to have a choice.

I am not sure about the copyright on listing recipes, but the protocol from checking out other blogs seems to be as long as it is credited it is OK, so here goes.

Jam Drops (500 Cookies, Philippa Vanstone)

115g (4oz) unsalted butter
150g (5 oz) caster sugar
1 egg
200g (7 oz) plain flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
75g (3 oz) jam, any flavour

Pre-heat oven to 175Oc (350OF). Line two baking sheets with parchment.

Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat well.

Sift the flour and baking powder and stir into the butter mixture. Roll the mixture into balls and place them at least 5cm (2 in) apart onthe baking sheets.

Press a finger into each ball and fill the hole with a little jam. Bake for 10 minutes until golden. Add a little more jam while the bookies are still warm.

Cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container for four to five days.

Makes: 2 dozen

Chocolate Macaroons

Don't they look great? I spent Saturday baking desserts for my nephew's christening. These would have to be one of my favourite things to cook. I recently discovered them in Nigella Lawson's "How to be a Domestic Goddess". Macaroons were something I always wanted to try after reading about them in countless Enid Blyton books, although they were generally coconut macaroons. My preference for chocolate overroad authenticity!

Easy Banana Cake

My mother, the Clean Queen, bought some bananas the other day that turned out to be somewhat less that average so I decided to cut out the bits that were still nice and make a banana cake. I was feeling lazy so I found the easiest recipe I could.

Mixed it up in a flash in the trusty Sunbeam Mixmaster (I know, the purists would gasp in horror that it isn't a Kitchenaid but I don't have the dollars for one of those!)

Flopped it the tin.
Popped it in the oven and it came out like this.

Mmmm the smell is gorgeous. It went perfectly with a cup of tea looking like this.