Pages

Friday, June 24, 2011

Carrot Cake Cupcake!


I have a thing for food that comes in a small package. 

I guess it's just the cute factor. Mini pies, mini tarts (tartelettes sound even cuter), mini cakes, mini lasagnas...If I can make a baby version of something, I'd make it! That's not exactly why I made this dessert though, which is essentially carrot cake in cupcake form. Nope. I had a whole different reason.

In fact, I almost always have the same reason for cooking something: my mood. While other women show their change of mood through their choice of skirts or pants, mine translates to what gets served on the dinner table. I guess that's why my pantry is always well-stocked -- it has to be ready to serve two or three different moods at a time.

When I feel like retrieving to my comfort zone -- whether it's because I'm having exam pressure, or just feeling a little blue, or extremely exhausted -- I reach out for something comforting and warm, like mushroom risotto or chicken porridge. There is the occasional moment when only chocolate will do, in which case I'll turn to a cup of very rich and very dark hot chocolate.


When I feel upbeat, which often coincides with summery weather, I whip up something bright and sunny, like pasta with fresh vegetables. Bright colors and bold flavors will be on the menu, accompanied by a jug of chilled lemonade. 

When I feel excited, or on top of the world (things going well at the work front, perhaps), I strangely go for something spicy or, um, "ethnic". I will intuitively crave something Mexican, or Indonesian, or anything with a bit of a kick (or a lot). If you have an explanation for that, please give me a call! And when I'm, what's the word, going bananas over a guy? Well, that moment calls for a Hainanese chicken rice, complete with all the trimmings. If you're a guy (and not one of my guy friends!), and you find yourself struggling to finish a huge spread of Hainanese chicken rice at my dining table, be very suspicious that I have a huge crush on you. And if there's dessert, be very suspicious. If there's no dessert...I probably am just tired. I'm not that picky ;)


And when I'm having one of those moods -- spectacularly happy, permanent-grin-on-my-face kind of happy, the kind of mood that makes everything look pastel-colored.....The kind of mood that makes you understand La Vie en Rose ("Life in pink? that TOTALLY makes sense").....The kind of mood that makes every romantic comedy enjoyable no matter how much Hollywood has robbed it off its originality.....That calls for something cute, sweet, creamy and pretty. One way or the other it usually involves a guy. Vanilla, butter and sugar are usually in there somewhere. A guy, vanilla, butter and sugar...Can't go wrong with those.

Hence the Carrot Cake Cupcake today. That was my mood showing through.

Not just because I had extra carrots in my fridge.

Carrot Cake Cupcake
Makes 20 cupcakes

Adapted from www.jamieoliver.com

• 250g unsalted butter, softened
• 250g light brown soft sugar
• 5 large eggs, separated
• zest and juice of 1 orange
• 170g self-raising flour, sifted
• 1 slightly heaped teaspoon baking powder
• 100g ground almonds
• 100g chopped nuts (almonds/walnuts/cashews) plus a handful for sprinkling
• 1 heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon
• a pinch of ground cloves
• a pinch of ground nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• 250g carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
sea salt

for the orange mascarpone icing:
• 100g mascarpone cheese
• 200g cream cheese
• 85g icing sugar, sifted
• zest of 1 large orange

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Line the cupcake pan with cupcake wrappers. Beat the butter and sugar together by hand or in a food processor until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks one by one, and add the orange zest and juice. Stir in the sifted flour and baking powder, and add the ground almonds, nuts, spices and grated carrot and mix together well.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff, then gently fold them into the cake mix. Scoop the mixture into the cupcake wrappers and bake for about 20-22 minutes until risen. You can check to see if the cupcakes are cooked by poking a cocktail stick into one. Remove it after 5 seconds and if it comes out clean the cake is cooked; if slightly sticky, it needs a bit longer, so put it back in the oven. Leave the cupcakes to cool completely on a wire rack.

Mix all the icing ingredients together and spread generously over the top of the cake. Finish off with a sprinkling of chopped walnuts.






No comments:

Post a Comment