One of my all time favorite cakes has to be carrot cake. It is always moist and delicious, nicely spiced and such a pleasure to eat. My mother loved carrot cake also as does my sister. We all adore it.
Making a full carrot cake is not a viable option for me anymore. Not as a person living alone. by themselves. It just not something I would make just for myself. Until now!
I present the small batch Classic Carrot Cake (with Pineapple) recipe. This recipe makes one single layer carrot cake, and is every bit as delicious as the full sized cake.
Not only that but it has the tastiest lush white chocolate cream cheese frosting. Dreamy, creamy, white and delicious!
The cake is moist and spicy, with the just the most perfect texture and amount of sweetness. That frosting, creamy and rich. The two together . . . can you say AMAZING???
The two of these together are phenomenal. 
The cake recipe is one that I adapted from "Baking Day" with Anna Olson. Anna is a top Canadian Chef and baker. I trust her recipes implicitly.
The frosting is a recipe I adapted from "Rose's Heavenly Cakes" by Rose Levy Beranbaum. She had paired it with the carrot cake in her book. Having written 13 successful cookbooks, her recipes are something I also trust!
I could have made the carrot cake from her book to go with it, but it did not have crushed pineapple in it and I do so love crushed pineapple in a carrot cake, don't you???
Carrots and pineapple go together like peas and carrots. They are just perfect flavor and texture partners! Especially in cakes and muffins!
The frosting with this cake are also a beautiful pairing. This is a cake for a special occasion and what occasion is more special than a few moments along with a hot cuppa? I don't think too many.
My viewpoint is I am deserving of enjoying the things I love as much as the next person is. Just because I live on my own I will not be denied! I am worth special things also, and I should not have to wait until I have company to enjoy them!!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CLASSIC CAKE WITH PINEAPPLE
Its a pretty straightforward list! Simple and uncomplicated.
For the cake:
- 3/4 cup (180ml) vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup (150g) soft light brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup (60ml) pure maple syrup
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups (200g) grated carrots
- 1 2/3 cups (250g) plain all purpose flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tin (14 oz/398ml) tin of crushed pineapple, well drained
To make the white chocolate cream cheese frosting:
- 4 1/2 ounces (130g) white chocolate containing cocoa butter, chopped
- 6 ounces (170g) full fat cream cheese
- 3 TBS (42g) butter
- 3/4 TBS (10.5 g) creme fraiche or sour cream
I love the additional flavor of the Maple syrup in this cake. It just screams occasion to me, and adds a lovely depth of flavor. Don't use pancake syrup, the maple flavored syrup. This is when only the real thing will do.
Do peel your carrots before grating. I am always amazed when I see some of these younger women not peeling their carrots. I have always found that the skin discolors when cooked. Maybe that is just me.
If you are using the cup measures, make sure you pack your brown sugar into the measuring cup firmly. It should still hold the shape of the cup when you dump it out into the bowl.
Make sure you drain your crushed pineapple (pineapple crush in the U.K.) really well. I put mine in a sieve to drain and then press all the liquid out with the back of a spoon.
If you want you can also add raisins and walnuts to this. 1/4 cup (40g) of raisins and 1/4 (35g) cups of chopped toasted nuts will be just about right.
Make sure your white chocolate has a high cocoa butter content such as Green & Blacks (with the vanilla seeds) or Valrhona. If you wish you can eliminate the chocolate altogether and replace it with 1/2 cup (65g) of icing sugar and 1/8 tsp of vanilla extract.
HOW TO MAKE CLASSIC CARROT CAKE WITH PINEAPPLE
This is really quite a simple cake to make. Using the food processor for the frosting also speeds things up.
Preheat the oven to 325*F/160*C/ gas mark 3. Butter an 8-inch round baking tin well and then line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
Whisk the oil, brown sugar and maple syrup together by hand until well combined. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time.
Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, soda and salt together. Add all at once to the egg mixture, stirring together until smooth. Stir in the carrots and the crushed pineapple. Pour into the prepared baking pan.
Bake in the preheated oven for 75 - 90 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Leave to cool in the pan on a wire rack for half an hour and then tip out onto the rack to cool completely. Do not frost until completely cold.
To make the frosting heat the chocolate in a bowl over simmering water until almost completely melted. Do NOT let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Leave to cool until it is no longer warm to the touch but still fluid.
Process the cream cheese, butter and creme fraiche/sour cream in a food processor until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides. Add the cooled, melted chocolate and pulse a few times until thoroughly incorporated.
Use the frosting to frost the top and sides of the cake. Keep the cake chilled in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Bring to room temperature and cut into wedges to serve. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.
This really is a delicious cake. Dense and moist with just the right amount of spice. I kept it old school today and left out the raisins and nuts, but sometimes if I am feeling a bit more indulgent I will add both. I do understand that they are not everyone's cup of tea.
If you are wanting to bake yourself something special this week a classic carrot cake makes a really lovely treat! Plus you are getting in some extra vegetables, and that can't be bad! Carrots help you to see better in the dark, don't you know!
I have baked a few different versions of Carrot Cake here in The English Kitchen through the years, here are just a few of them, all delicious as well.
CARROT CAKE ROLL - Fat free carrot cake, loaded with chopped raisins and nuts, spread with a cream cheese filling and then rolled up like a jelly roll. I like to dust it with icing sugar and then garnish with toasted walnut halves for a beautiful presentation.
BEST CARROT SNACK CAKE - The country cousin of the carrot cake with no bells and whistles. No frosting. This is a cake that you can enjoy eating out of hand. Perfect for packing into school lunches or for an after school treat. This is a wholesome, deliciously moist carrot cake filled with whole grain flour, plenty of carrots, toasted pecan nuts, chopped dates and a beautiful mix of warm baking spices.
Yield: one 8-inch cake
Classic Carrot Cake with Pineapple
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 90 MinInactive time: 30 MinTotal time: 2 H & 10 M
This small batch version of the classic carrot cake is lush, moist and delicious. Do make the white chocolate cream cheese frosting to go with it! You won't regret it.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 3/4 cup (180ml) vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup (150g) soft light brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup (60ml) pure maple syrup
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups (200g) grated carrots
- 1 2/3 cups (250g) plain all purpose flour
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tin (14 oz/398ml) tin of crushed pineapple, well drained
To make the white chocolate cream cheese frosting:
- 4 1/2 ounces (130g) white chocolate containing cocoa butter, chopped
- 6 ounces (170g) full fat cream cheese
- 3 TBS (42g) butter
- 3/4 TBS (10.5 g) creme fraiche or sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325*F/160*C/ gas mark 3. Butter an 8-inch round baking tin well and then line the bottom with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Whisk the oil, brown sugar and maple syrup together by hand until well combined. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, soda and salt together. Add all at once to the egg mixture, stirring together until smooth. Stir in the carrots and the crushed pineapple.
- Pour into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 75 - 90 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Leave to cool in the pan on a wire rack for half an hour and then tip out onto the rack to cool completely. Do not frost until completely cold.
- To make the frosting heat the chocolate in a bowl over simmering water until almost completely melted. Do NOT let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Leave to cool until it is no longer warm to the touch but still fluid.
- Process the cream cheese, butter and creme fraiche/sour cream in a food processor until smooth and creamy, scraping down the sides. Add the cooled, melted chocolate and pulse a few times until thoroughly incorporated.
- Use the frosting to frost the top and sides of the cake. Keep the cake chilled in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
- Bring to room temperature and cut into wedges to serve. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com
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I had taken some ground beef out of the freezer last night before I went to bed. I was supposed to make a meal to take over to someone from my church who was feeling poorly today. It ended up they were not there and so I had some beef that needed using.
I didn't really feel like making Chili or any kind of a casserole and so I went looking for recipes that I could use it in. I found this delicious sounding Ground Beef & Barley Soup recipe on Closet Cooking.
I have known Kevin for years now. He makes the most delicious food. I knew that the recipe had to be a good one. I did not need a large batch of soup however and so I cut it down to make only 3 servings, knowing that I could eat one today and then freeze the rest in two (one serving) lots to enjoy another time.
What appealed to me as well was the fact that (other than the prep) this soup could be on the table in about half an hour! Normally beef and barley soup requires much longer as you are using stewing beef in it which takes a long time to cook and tenderize.
The use of ground beef in this shortens the cook time considerably. And if you use a really quality lean ground beef you won't even notice the difference between this and stewing beef. Its delicious!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE GROUND BEEF & BARLEY SOUP
Very simple store cupboard ingredients. I am thinking you probably have all of this in your kitchen right now!
- 1/2 pound ground beef (230g)
- 1/2 cup (26g) onion, diced
- 1/2 cup (25g) carrot, diced
- 1/2 cup (50g) celery, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1/8 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 TBS tomato paste
- 3 cups (720ml) beef stock
- 1/2 (14.5 ounce/400g) tin of diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1/2 cup (100g) pearl barley
- 1 bay leaf, broken
- 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 tablespoon parsley, chopped
My sister and I buy our ground beef locally at the farm market. It is locally produced and sourced and is organic and grass fed. It is exceptionally lean and good tasting.
I would never go back to super market beef now. We are really spoiled with this. It is comparable to the ground steak that I used to buy at the local butcher's shop in the U.K.
Don't worry about using up the other half tin of tomatoes. You can freeze them in a small container and they will be ready for you to use in another recipe.
Feel free to use other vegetables as well as the carrots, onion and celery. Potatoes, cabbage, bell peppers and celeriac all go very well.
You can use the beef stock that comes in a carton, or you can use the beef stock that needs to be reconstituted with water. It is condensed, or you can use the stock that comes as a stock cube.
I like the Better Than Bouillon stock bases. They are made with actual roasted meats. I usually have the chicken one and the beef one to hand. Like all soup/gravy bases, they can be salty and so do judge your seasoning accordingly.
Pearl Barley, or "Pearled" barley is something I always have in my cupboard. It is barley which has been processed and polished to remove the outer hull as well as most of the bran. This makes it quicker to cook and is quite safe for people to eat.
If you don't like barley you could use rice or brown rice. Both would work well. Personally I prefer the texture of barley over rice in soups.
HOW TO MAKE GROUND BEEF & BARLEY SOUP
Nothing could be simpler, faster or tastier! This soup spells winner to me!
If your beef is really lean add 1/2 TBS of light olive oil to a large saucepan. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring until it is no longer pink and is beginning to brown. If your meat is fatty, drain off the fat, leaving about 1/2 TBS in the pan.
Add the onions, carrots and celery to the pan. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes until tender. Add the garlic and the herbs and cook for 1 minute longer. It should be very fragrant by now.
Add the beef stock, tomatoes, barley, bay leaf balsamic vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Simmer, covered, over medium low heat until the vegetables and barley are tender. Remove bay leaf and season to taste with salt and black pepper.
Serve hot with crackers or crusty bread.
This was hearty and super delicious. I really enjoyed it. With lots of lovely chunks of vegetables and loads of chewy barley it went down really well.
I was quite full up after eating a bowl of this and I am really pleased that I will have two more servings of it in the freezer for me to enjoy at a later date! Yippee!!
Some other soups in The English Kitchen that you might enjoy are:
ROAST CHICKEN SOUP, WITH BARLEY, PARSNIPS & CABBAGE - This is one of my favorite chicken soups. It contains all the things I love. Chicken, some of my favorite vegetables and hearty barley. For this delicious soup I combined my own homemade stock, pearl barley, grated parsnips, and cabbage with perfectly delicious results. You can use ready made stock as well if you want. Prepare to fall in love!
ROOT VEGETABLE SOUP - A really enjoyable vegetable soup made with simple root vegetables. Celeriac, carrots, potatoes, onions and rutabaga/swede. All in a delicious stock. You could also add parsnips if you wanted to. This soup is proof positive that it is the simple things in life that bring us the most pleasure!
Yield: 3 servings
Ground Beef and Barley Soup
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 40 Min
A quick and easy version of a delicious and hearty soup. No need to wait hours for this one to cook!
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound ground beef (230g)
- 1/2 cup (26g) onion, diced
- 1/2 cup (25g) carrot, diced
- 1/2 cup (50g) celery, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1/4 tsp dried thyme
- 1/8 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 TBS tomato paste
- 3 cups (720ml) beef stock
- 1/2 (14.5 ounce/400g) tin of diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1/2 cup (100g) pearl barley
- 1 bay leaf, broken
- 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 tablespoon parsley, chopped
Instructions
- If your beef is really lean add 1/2 TBS of light olive oil to a large saucepan. Add the ground beef and cook, stirring until it is no longer pink and is beginning to brown. If your meat is fatty, drain off the fat, leaving about 1/2 TBS in the pan.
- Add the onions, carrots and celery to the pan. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes until tender. Add the garlic and the herbs and cook for 1 minute longer. It should be very fragrant by now.
- Add the beef stock, tomatoes, barley, bay leaf balsamic vinegar, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer.
- Simmer, covered, over medium low heat until the vegetables and barley are tender. Remove bay leaf and season to taste with salt and black pepper.
- Serve hot with crackers or crusty bread.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com
Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
Here I am again with another Vintage Menu Madness, this one for the last week of October! If I had been on the ball I would have tried to cook a Halloween themed menu, but alas, I am not on the ball, so you are getting what you get!
This week I wanted to use what I already had in the house, without having to go out to the shops. Its a really rainy day today and its nearing the end of the month so the budget is being squeezed. Still think I managed to pull a rabbit out of the hat, as the menu I came up with was certainly nicely varied and quite delicious!
Today's menu comes from Betty Crocker's New Dinner for Two cookbook, which was published in 1964. I purchased my copy from Thrift Books. It is a cookbook of vintage recipes largely dedicated to cooking tasty wholesome meals for the smaller family.
I don't know about you, but I really love these older cookbooks and recipes. Who would have thought that the 1960's would be considered vintage, but here we are. I am in my golden years and my childhood when many of these things would have been cooked by out mothers was a long time ago.
I love the happy memories associated with many of these recipes and I am sure that they (hope that they) spark a few happy memories for you also!
I was able to cook today's menu as planned totally from what I had in my house, with just a changes to the original. This was a simple menu, but I did have to begin it early in the day because of the jellied salad, and having to boil potatoes. Here is what the menu consisted of with my changes in brackets.
BAKED OR PAN-FRIED FISH
GREEN BEANS AND CORN
(PEAS AND CORN)
COTTAGE-FRIED POTATOES
PERFECTION SALAD
BREAD AND BUTTER
FRESH CHERRY PARFAIT
(SINGED ANGEL WINGS)
As you can see I did have to make a few minor changes, with the exception of the dessert, that was a pretty major change. Sorry about that!
I will start with the Perfection Salad as you will have to put this together early in the day so that it is ready for supper. I am no stranger to Perfection Salad. I have made it on here before. This recipe varies quite a bit from my original recipe, which you can find here.
My original recipe was made totally from scratch. Perfection salad is a type of jellied coleslaw that was very common in the 1960's. In fact jellied salads were very popular full stop in the 60's and were often called congealed salads, which when you think about it, is not a very appealing name!
We first had Perfection Salad when my mother and us children were visiting one of my mother's friends for the weekend. Both of their husband's had gone hunting and so the women and children spent the weekend together. Irene was my mother's friend's name and she made a Perfection Salad. My sister and I both have very happy memories of that delicious salad!
This version of the salad varies a great deal from the one Irene made. It uses a boxed jello/jelly mix. No surprise there as this cookbook was put out by General Foods and they were the producers of a very popular brand of gelatin dessert called Jello.
I did make a few changes. One, I used a sugar free gelatin and I had to use lemon lime jello as I did not have lemon jello in my cupboard. I also left out the pimento as it is not something which is readily available here where I live.
This was actually very delicious I have to say! I would never had thought to have mayonnaise with jello but it totally worked!
Yield: 2 servings
Perfection Salad
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 3 HourTotal time: 3 H & 15 M
Light and refreshing and filled with plenty of crunch. It really is delicious
Ingredients
- 1/2 package (4 serving size) of lemon flavored gelatin (I used lemon lime)
- 1 TBS fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 cup (50g) chopped fresh cabbage
- 1/2 cup (110g) diced fresh celery
- 1 TBS finely chopped pimiento (I left this out)
- 3 sweet pickles chopped
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Mayonnaise to serve
Instructions
- Prepare 1/2 of the package of gelatin according to the package directions, reducing the amount of liquid accordingly. (1/2 cup (120ml) each of boiling and cold water) Stir in the lemon juice and chill until it is beginning to thicken.
- Add the remaining ingredients, combining well and spoon into 2 individual molds. (I used a single mold.) Chill in the refrigerator until firm.
- Serve on lettuce and topped with mayonnaise. (I did not have any lettuce.)
I boiled the potatoes for the cottage fried potatoes early in the day so that they would be cold enough to peel and fry for dinner. I had memories of my mom making cottage fried potatoes for us when we were children. She would usually have two pans going at the same time. Oh how we loved them!
I cooked these first, before the fish and then kept them warm in a low oven while I was cooking the fish. I did not want to dirty up two skillets when one skillet, properly managed would do the trick.
COTTAGE FRIED POTATOES
Slice 3 to 4 boiled potatoes into thick slices. Heat a generous amount of butter in a heavy bottomed skillet until it begins to foam over medium heat.
Heap the potato slices lightly into the skillet and season lightly with salt and black pepper. (I added a dash of paprika for color.)
Brown slowly, turning as sections brown. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes until crisp. This makes enough for 2 servings.
Transfer to a heat proof dish and keep warm in a low oven (300*F/150*C/gas mark 2) while you cook the fish.
The original menu called for Green Beans and Corn. I had corn but I did not have any green beans. There is not a lot of difference between peas and beans and so I went with those.
Both were frozen organic peas and corn. I measured enough for two servings of each in a saucepan and topped with boiling water, brought it back to the boil and then let it sit for a few minutes before draining and dressing with a bit of butter and some seasoning. Easy peasy.
I had some lovely haddock fillets in the freezer which were packaged in one-fillet sized zip lock baggies. I took two of them out and stuck them in the refrigerator overnight to thaw. When I took them out to cook they were a bit broken, which is why it looks like more fish on the platter. I can promise you there are only 2 fish fillets here.
You can cook the fish in one of two ways, in the oven or pan fried. I will share both. I pan fried mine in butter in a skillet. I used Haddock. There is a fish processing plant right around the corner from where I live.
They often put their fish on offer for $10 a pound which is a real steal. Only problem is you have to buy about 6 or 7 pounds of it. Not so bad when you have a sister to go halves with!
Yield: 2 servings
Baked or Pan-Fried Fish
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 10 MinTotal time: 15 Min
Perfectly cooked and delicious. Most people make the mistake of over-cooking their fish. Fish actually cooks rather quickly as compared to other proteins
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 - 2 pounds (680 - 907 grams) pan fish (such as trout or sun fish) OR
- 3/4 pound (340g) dressed fish or fillets
- salt and pepper
- flour to dust
- butter (see individual methods below)
- lemon wedges to serve
Instructions
For Baked:
- Heat the oven to 500*F260*C/gas mark 10. (very hot) Place the seasoned and dusted fish in a lightly greased baking dish.
- Drizzle with 1 TBS of melted butter.
- Bake for 10 minutes until done. The fish will flake easily with the tines of a fork when done.
- Serve immediately with lemon wedges.
For Pan Fried:
- Melt 2 TBS of fat in a heavy bottomed skillet. (Butter gives a nice flavor.)
- Once it begins to foam add the fish fillets in a single layer. Cook until golden brown on the underside (5 minutes) then flip over an brown the other side. Again the fish is done when it flakes easily with the tines of a fork.
- Serve immediately with wedges of lemon.
The original dessert suggested in the menu was Fresh Cherry Parfait, which involved layering fresh Bing cherry halves in parfait glasses with vanilla ice cream using about 1/4 cup (55g) of cherries in each. I did not have cherries and they are rather expensive at this time of year anyways, and so I did another vintage dessert which I have also shared on here before.
Singed Angel Wings. Toasted slices of angel food cake, topped with a scoop of ice cream and some caramel sauce. (I used heated dulce de leche.) Originally I had sprinkled chopped peanuts on top as well, but today I did not have any. This is a very easy dessert to make so do check out my recipe!
If you don't have any angel food cake you can just top a slice of plain cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and drizzle with caramel sauce and it would be just as good!
And that was my Vintage Menu for this week. It was delicious and simple to execute. A bit heavy on the butter perhaps, but I tried to keep it down as much as possible!
I do so enjoy doing these vintage recipe posts. I hope you are enjoying these posts also! I wonder what I will cook up next week! Stay tuned!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan@aol.com
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
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