Baking Time!

Well, it was a hectic week as usual and being sick also did not help. Friday being our rest day, I took the opportunity and slept the most of the day. I was so exhausted that just by setting my back on the bed would make me doze.

But hey, my kiddos would have to be fed so I have to get up and prepare something for them. In the morning when I woke up, I saw they already helped themselves for breakfast but of course I cannot let them be like that for lunch and dinner, LOL.

Scavenger Hunt in the Kitchen

I love to cook and though there are times when I go all out and buy all ingredients required in a recipe, I sometimes just settle for recipes which require only items that are already at hand.

I wanted to bake a carrot cake, I have never done so. I know we always have carrots in the fridge. I checked some recipes online and found that I have most of the ingredients in my kitchen so I went on to work.

Baking is a Remedy to my Tired Being

Not an exaggeration. I really love to bake. It destresses me and puts my thoughts away from life's anxieties. Best, I put my heart to it since I am doing it for the people I love.

If I were to have my own house, I would love to have a big kitchen. It could be larger than the living room. I would not mind. LOL. But for now, here in the UAE, I need to settle with the tiny kitchen of our studio apartment.

Successful Baking Attempt

They say baking requires precision or otherwise you will not get the desired output. Though I normally follow the measurements asked for my the recipe, I do not shy when making alterations and substitutions too.

When I said I will make a carrot cake, I later realized that I still have some ripe mangoes that were given to us by Hive account@abdoon (an Emirati steemian) so I thought of adding mangoes in the recipe.

The cake was fantastic!

I am not saying this because I was the one who baked it, but it was very soft and moist. The sweetness is just right and the taste blends well.

My kids love it and I am sure to make another one again soon.

The Recipe

If you would like to try, let me share the recipe that I followed to make this very tasty, moist carrot-mango cake!

2 large carrots, grated (around 2 cups)
1 small ripe mango, cubed
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
3 medium sized eggs ( I used 4 since native eggs are small)
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 tsp cinnamon powder
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract

Most recipes I found online call for pecan nuts. I do not have them, and I don't think it really made a big difference.

For the Frosting:

1 cup cream cheese
1 cup confectioner's sugar
lemon zest

(Note: it will not be enough to cover the whole cake but it came out just fine for my taste. You may want to check this out for another frosting recipe.)

Grease a 9" round baking pan and preheat oven at 200°C.
In a large bowl, put together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon powder.
Whisk together sugar, vegetable oil, eggs and vanilla then gradually add the dry ingredients.
Fold in the grated carrots and mango cubes.
Pour the mixture into the pan and bake for around 40-50 minutes. You will know that the cake is ready when you insert a toothpick in the middle and it comes out clean.
Prepare the frosting by just whisking them together until creamy.
Let the cake cool down in a rack before adding the frosting. I sliced the cake into two and added frosting in the middle and then the top.