Easy Carrot Cake Recipe #boredombakes

Easy Carrot cake.

Picnic Pleasures


I don't know about you, but  I don't always buy what I need for the family grocery , and as a result can mean impulse buying on food, that is not to say that we can't have our treats in life ! but with a little planning we can factor in treats in our lives.

Take this weekend for example we are off to a family picnic , now I could go and be lazy and just buy  a meal deal for 3 and it would cost £9 but I got to thinking what if I spend that £9 and created my own picnic?! Most staples you'll already have it in.

"I am not going to the shop again : said Mr T

First was the wraps.

Simple and quick !

The day before I had set about making a carrot cake I was lacking walnuts and the spices that usually go in, I made my recipe up as I went along it was what I've come to call a boredom bake.

Ingredients

200g of finely grated carrots

175g Soft Brown Sugar
200g of wholemeal flour

3 Large Free range eggs

175ml sunflower oil or olive oil

75g Ground Almonds

1 and half teaspoon vanilla flavouring ( mine was made from vanilla pods but was a liquid )

Icing sugar 

Natural orange flavouring /orange juice 
or 2tbsp of orange juice/water
Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4/fan 160C. Grease a brownie tin or any other tin that you usually use ( that is square ) non stick is the best.  l always use Lakelands cake release finding no need to worry about using baking parchment etc, but use what suits you.

Next tip the sugar,ground almonds, vanilla flavouring  into  bowl, afterwards pour in the oil and add the eggs. Then with a wooden spoon lightly mix, adding in the grated carrot and mix again.

Shift the flour and bicarbonate of soda into the bowl and then lightly mix all the ingredients – when everything is equally combined then it is time to stop mixing. amalgamated stop mixing. The resulting mixture will be be fairly soft.

Next pour the mixture into your prepared tin and bake for around 40 -45 minutes Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 40- 45 minutes. When it is down it should feel warmth and springy in the centre. Let the cake cool in the tin then turn out onto cooling rack.

Mix the icing sugar in a small bowl with either the water combined with the orange flavouring if you haven't got orange juice to hand, or you could even hand squeeze some.

Then place the cake on a cake sat and or serving plate and boldly drizzle the icing back and forth , flourishing with some grated orange peel to finished off.

I used some Liberty Print hankies I had won from Flax & Mallow as a placement to set my cake stand upon ( I have only one cake stand! )

I think I am a converted Liberty Print fan .

"Oh joy the bank balance" said Mr T

"Don't worry they are only £6 each or 2 for £10" said I ( Mrs Ninja Cat)

I then cut up the carrot cake into squares ready for our picnic pleasures * the annual family picnic my husband is one of 7 so you can imagine it is a very big clan meeting.

How exciting that House of Fraser have included me in a Blogger cook book , it is so exciting seeing your name and recipe in print.

Linking to #cookBlogshare at GoldenBakes