Pandan Chiffon Cake

And so the saga continues...

Here it goes again, my loyalty badge showing off in baking chiffon cakes, and to add a bit of oriental twist, Im putting my pandan chiffon cake on a pedestal this time...

According to my good ole friend Mr. Wikipedia, chiffon cake is a very light cake made with vegetable oil, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, and flavorings.It is a combination of both batter and foam type cakes. In contrast to butter, the traditional fat used in cake making, it is difficult to beat air into oil, so chiffon cakes, like angel cakes and other foam cakes, achieve a fluffy texture by beating egg whites until stiff, and folding them into the cake batter before baking. Its aeration properties rely on both meringgue and chemical leaveners. Its oil-based batter is initially blended before folding into a whipped egg whites and sugar mixture which is the meringue. Hah! Talking about being academic and all. Told you so, baking is a science, so structure it requires in baking chiffon cakes, then structure we need to use when baking this pandan chiffon cake - oh such airy, fluffy, spongy bed of delectable goodness. As high as the cake reached the sky, higher than anything like it, bigger and bolder, my little boy has actually finished half of the cake all by himself. Need we say more? But please enjoy! :))

* Footnote:  no english translation for Pandan. Mr. Wikipedia said that Pandan (screwpine pandanus) is a type of plant that grows in tropical areas of Asia. Pandan leaves have a sweet, unique flavor that is commmonly used in Southeast-Asian countries to enhance both desserts and savory dishes. The leaves are long and bright green, and when pounded or ground, they lend a sweet taste and aroma to many Thai desserts and some drinks.

Ingredients

(A)

200g flour 

150g sugar

100ml cooking oil 

125ml coconut milk or fresh milk or even water (I used coconut milk)

5 egg yolks

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

a few drops of pandan paste 

a few drops of green colouring 

(B)

7 egg white

1/2 tsp cream of tartar or salt

100g sugar

Method
1. Sift flour, baking powder and soda three times.. set aside
2. Whisk egg yolk with sugar and salt till pale in colour
3. Add in oil and coconut milk and continue to whisk till fluffy
4. Add in pandan paste and green colouring if you're using
5. Fold in sifted flour lightly
6. In another bowl.. whisk egg white till foamy.. add in cream of tartar and continue to whisk till soft peak.. add in sugar in several stages and continue to beat till soft peak.
7. Add the beaten egg white into the egg yolk batter in 3 separate additions, each time folding gently with a spatula until just blended.
8. Pour batter into a 24cm tube pan (do not grease the pan). Tap the pan lightly on the table top to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter.
9. Bake in pre-heated oven at 160 degC for 45 ~ 50mins or until the cake surface turns golden brown, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
10. Bake for a further 10mins at 175C (use aluminium foil to cover the top so as to prevent it browning too quickly)
11. Remove from the oven and invert the pan immediately. Let cool completely before unmoulding. To remove the cake from the pan, run a thin-bladed knife around the inside of the pan and the center core. Release the cake and run the knife along the base of the pan to remove the cake.

Marmer Chiffon Cake

The sky is the limit! And I so wanted the cake to rise and reach the sky. Figuratively of course. Like the clouds across the sky, it has to be fluffy and soft like a pillow. A perfectly baked chiffon cake has to rise so high and have a texture that is fluffy and spongy. And the number of times I baked this cake?  A LOT to the point that my little boy finally had his say, "Enough baby! I couldnt eat it anymore." Hahaha! For two consecutive weeks, I baked this cake on end, using different recipes until I finally found the one which can make the cake reach the sky so high. I know I can be so anal about the reaching the sky part but there is no other way for me but to bake it perfectly. Im also hang up about the accuracy of the measurement, while cooking is an art, baking is a science after all so please follow the instructions to the letter and your cake will reach the sky...

Ingredients

(A)

7 egg whites

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

100g sugar

(B)

7 egg yolks

100g sugar

175g flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

75 ml cooking oil

150 ml of full cream milk (I used skimmed milk, no special reason, that's the only one we have in the fridge. Lol!)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp cocoa powder 

1 tsp chocolate paste 

Method

1. Stir (B) until blended, set aside - (I whisk egg yolks and sugar first, then add oil and milk.. I then fold in sifted flour, baking powder and salt gently and put it aside)

2. Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until bubbly, add sugar a little at a time and continue to whip until soft peak.

3. Take 1/3 of egg white mixture and add into egg yolk mixture.. fold in gently bef pouring the rest of egg yolk mixture into egg white. Divide batter equally into two portions and add cocoa powder and paste into one portion.

4. Spoon white batter and chocolate batter alternately into a 22cm chiffon pan.. bake it at 170C for 45mins.

5. Lift, turn the pan on the neck of the bottle, let stand until cold. Once cool, remove cake from pan with the help of a knife.

Almost Famous Amos Cookies

The secret is now revealed, the famous amos cookies are here to impress, and dressed up to the nines, they will blow your mind away...

I have tried and tested several cookie recipes, and while they truly impressed me, they fail to leave me speechless. This one does it....

What can I say, but I am beyond speechless...:))

So here yea your famous amos cookies, well... your almost famous amos cookies that is.

*Snagged from http://www.bisousatoi.com

Ingredients
250g salted butter,softened
200g light brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp coffee oil or coffee paste
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup oats,processed to bits in a chopper
1/4 cup ground almonds
1/2 cup of your favourite nuts (hazelnuts) ,chopped finely
1 pack of semi-sweet chocolate chips OR chocolate chunks (don't use cheap chocolate chips,the flavour is compromised)
300g self-raising flour

Method
This is the most important step,at least 2 hours before,or the night before,beat the egg with the vanilla and the coffee oil to infuse or you can do this the night before,refrigerate it then bring it to room temperature before baking.

Preheat oven to 160C.

To the softened butter,beat in the sugar and the salt to combine. Beat in the egg and stir in the processed oats,ground almonds,optional chopped nuts and the chocolate chunks. Sift the flour and fold it in,this dough will not be too stiff but not too wet either.

For small cookies,place half-tsp of the dough,spaced slightly apart on the cookie sheet and bake for 9 to 10 minutes (I cooked mine for 12 minutes).

For large cookies, place rounded tbsp of the dough spaced apart on the cookie sheet and bake for 20 to 22 minutes.

Cool completely and let it sit overnight in an airtight container,this is for the flavour and fragrance to develop further.
Eat one freshly made and one the day after,there is a difference!

THANK YOU

"As far as the eyes can see, as far as the heart can bear"

Today, my blog has had more than 1,000 hits since I started it on February 10, 2011. From my home to yours and from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Thank you for reading all the recipe entries and thank you for letting me share with you my love and passion for baking and cooking. 

I share all my recipes; no secrets between you and me. They are meant to be shared with the universe, quite generously and in return - by sharing unconditionally - the universe loves me back...

THANK YOU! 

SUPERMOON on March 19, 2011. Using Canon G12, shutter speed: 1/250, ISO 200, aperture f /8

Dolce and Gabbana Brownies

"Life is not measured by the breaths we take; But by the moments that take our breath away"

I was saving to make these brownies for a special occasion, but I reckon spending a lazy Sunday with my little boy is a special occasion in itself, so bake out loud I did. 

We buy random things hoping to use them during special occasions; things we don't inherently need but because they are on sale, perhaps they will come handy...someday. We postpone realising our dream, thinking that the right time will come...someday. We are afraid to take risk because the universe out there is virtually unknown, too afraid to lose ourselves if we take the chance. We are too scared to take a leap of faith because extrapolation in normal distribution means a skew in the graph. :)) We have special things for special occasions, obviously we seldom use them because special occasion by virtue of its essential definition means rare or rarity. I am no exception, Im part of the normal distribution. But one thing is for sure, in my scheme of things, I try to level up my playing field a little bit and count my loose coins, ergo, upping my ante. 

These brownies are upping my ante...without trying to lose myself in effect. Lol! The swirl of chocolates and the spread of hazelnut are luxury and a pretence that these are too hard to make. Make no mistake, the core is still brownies, amidst the swirls and the spreads. We are not trying to change the core of what this is, we are just spreading our wings and well, you know now, upping the ante. 

Cafe Fernando made these brownies for Dolce and Gabbana's digital magazine, hence the name. But if you take away the name "Dolce and Gabbana then it is simply 32 inches of gooey-ful goodness of brownies with hazelnut spread and chocolate lace. And hey, they are ridiculously delicious!

Adapted from www.cafefernando.com

Ingredients

For Brownies:

10.5 ounces (300 grams) bittersweet (%70 cacao) chocolate, chopped

2/3 cup (10 tablespoons/150 grams) unsalted butter, plus more for pan

3/4 cup (105 grams) all-purpose flour

1/2 cup (35 grams) Dutch-process cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1+1/2 cup (300 grams) granulated sugar

5 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For Hazelnut Butter Frosting:

1 14-ounce (400 grams) jar smooth hazelnut butter

For Chocolate Lace Decoration:

4.5 ounces (150 grams) bittersweet (%70 cacao) chocolate, chopped

Method

To make the brownies, adjust the oven rack to the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Butter a 9-by-13-inch rectangular cake pan, line bottom and sides with parchment paper and set aside.

Place the chopped chocolate and butter in the top of a double boiler set over hot water and allow to melt slowly, stirring often. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whisk eggs and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the cooled chocolate followed by the vanilla extract, and whisk until combined. Fold in the flour and cocoa mixture with a spatula. Pour the mixture into the baking pan, smooth the top with a spatula and bake for 30 minutes.

Allow to cool in the pan for a few minutes, then turn out and leave to cool completely on a wire rack. Trim the top crust and half-an-inch from each side and place in the refrigerator until chilled, for about 30 minutes.

To make the hazelnut butter frosting, place the hazelnut butter in a small pot over low heat and stir until it is runny. Pour over cooled brownie, smooth the top with a spatula, place the frosted brownies in the refrigerator and chill completely, for about an hour.

To make the chocolate lace decoration, place the chopped chocolate in the top of a double boiler set over hot water and allow to melt slowly, stirring often. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

Place a 16-inch-long parchment paper on your work surface. Draw an 8-by-12 inch rectangular with a pencil, turn the other side and place it on a baking tray. Pour the melted chocolate into a piping bag fitted with the smallest (about 1 milimeter) plain tip and pipe the lace decoration the size of your brownie. Place the baking tray together with a large offset spatula in the refrigerator and wait until the chocolate is set, for about an hour.

Transfer the brownie on your serving plate. Remove the chocolate decoration from the refrigerator and with the help of a large chilled offset spatula go underneath the decoration, pick it up and place it on the brownie. Heat the blade of a large knife with a heat gun or stick it in a cup of hot water for a few minutes and then wipe off the water (heating the blade helps with cutting through the chocolate decoration without breaking it into pieces), cut the brownie into 12 identical squares and serve.

Beef caldereta (beef stew) one way

I had a gnawing craving for beef caldereta (beef stew), and for some reason the beef caldereta from this spanish restaurant that I used to frequent at home kept popping up in my mind. And as Im the type of a person who doesn't leave any stone unturned, I vagabondly (for lack of better term) visited one blogsite to the another until I found the one.

And so finally, with tongue-in-cheek, as I have tried many recipes from different blogsites and alas they are not really what they are seemed to be, I dawdled my way through cafenilson blog and surprisingly, found 'the one'. And as far as Im concerned, this is the best recipe closest to the one I usually order in that spanish restaurant. The blog has two recipes - the author's and one from a Filipino chef on parallel review, and as nothing is impossible in this world, and persistence is my name, I tweaked the recipes once again by combining them together and creating a recipe one-way. Hence the name of this recipe: Beef caldereta (beef stew) one way. Lol!

Beef Caldereta is a filipino dish but the spanish influence is all over it. What with Philippines under Spanish rule for 300 years, I am no longer surprised.

The recipe also asks for red wine and sherry, so take it easy on them huh, lest you get so excited and drink yourself silly. :)

The result speaks for itself; the beef just simply melts in your mouth and is ridiculously tender that seemingly having a mind of its own, the meat just separates and breaks on its own term.

Inspired by http://www.cafenilson.com/2009/03/beef-caldereta-two-ways/

Ingredients:
1 kilo beef, cut in bite size pieces
1 1/2 cup red wine
2 tbs olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium size onion, diced
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/3 cup brine of green olives
1 large tomato, diced
1 tsp paprika
1 carrot, diced
1 tbs grated cheddar cheese
1 small can liver spread
10 green olives (or black olives)
2 pieces roasted bell peppers (any color)
1 carrot, diced
1potato, diced
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbs sherry or brandy

Directions:
Marinate beef in red wine overnight (this is really important as I believe this makes the meat extremely tender).
Boil meat in enough water until tender.  Remove and reserve stock.
In olive oil, saute garlic and onion.  Add the meat to brown.  Add tomoto paste, olive brine and tomato.  Simmer until meat is tender.  Season with paprika.  Add stock and wine as needed until meat is tender and cooked. Add potato and carrot.
Thicken sauce with liver spread and cheese.  Add olives and peppers.  Season with salt and pepper.
Add sherry and continue to simmer on low until cooked or reduced.

Stone Fruit Tea Cake

Walking through the throngs of early risers - to get hold of the best produce - in Preston Market, I caught a glimpse of yellows, reds and purples in spherical hues. This total harmony of (analogous) colors is a flashing reminder of another season gone by and a new season dawning, "Oh hello autumn, there you are!" The leaves are changing hue once again and the trees are shedding leaves. A cacophony of leaves ruffling in the middle. It is autumn indeed.


This stone fruit tea cake make use of fruits in season - blueberries, peaches, plums and apricots and is a good company while you are sipping tea and listening to the rustling of leaves. Hehehe.  Im telling you now, the cake tastes as good as it looks.  I baked this so many times, and each time I serve this on the table, I am elevated to a food goddess position! Lol!


For tropical countries, mangoes, pears, strawberries (or pine apples) are delicious substitutes.


*Snagged from http://wendyinkk.blogspot.com
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp butter (for greasing pan), or just line the pan with paper and skip the butter (which I did)

200gm all purpose flour
2/3 tsp baking powder
2/3 tsp salt
130gm sugar (pulverized with seeds from 1 vanilla bean or  1 tsp of vanilla extract)
115gm butter
2 eggs
Extra sugar for sprinkling.
3 peaches, 4 apricots and 1 black plum, or any other stone fruit that you like, cherries, nectarines or fresh prunes 


1. Preheat the oven to 160C (I put my oven in fan-forced so I usually used this temp for this cake)/180C. Prepare a 7X12 baking tray, buttered or lined with paper, or just use a 9 inch round or square pan.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. With a mixer, cream the sugar and butter together on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
3.. Add the flour in 2 or three shifts, mixing just until a smooth dough forms. It will be pretty soft still. 
Divide dough into 2 portions, one slightly larger than the other. Dollop the larger portion of batter onto prepared pan. Use a spoon to press down the dollops and spread it around. 
4. Cut fruits into small pieces. Scatter the fruit over the dough. Generously sprinkle with sugar if they are sour. Dollop small balls of dough over the fruit. It will look charming no matter how even the blobs are, so don't worry too much about getting them perfect. 
5. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes (I usually bake mine for 35- 40 minutes), or until lightly golden and firm. Cool for 30 minutes before serving.

Mohnstrudel

There was a time in my baking life, when I did nothing but bake those cake and pastry rolls, I was getting so excited when I see filling of sweet goodness twirling within a fluffy bed of flour and yeast, spinning like a wheel in motion, and white and other (rainbow) colours in kaleidoscope. My poor little boy, he was subjected to taste test in epic proportions. Lol! Mohnstrudel is an Austrian staple and just to be able to bake it, is like getting a few steps closer to my ultimate dream of baking a variety of danish pastries. It may seem a herculean task at the moment, but I will eventually get there.  Sooner or later, I need to muster such indefatigable courage. But I have faith in my heart and infinite possibilities are born of faith, after all. For the meantime, Mohnstrudel will do. And baking Mohnstrudel is no Monster-del task either. Its very easy and anyone can enjoy baking it as much as I did and still do. 

Ingredients

660g Flour (preferably class AA flour)

250g Butter 

60g sugar

7g of instant yeast

pinch of salt

250ml milk

Filling

400 ml Water

180g Sugar

20g Butter

400g ground Nuts (almonds, hazelnuts)

120g Breadcrumbs

80g Raisins

Lemon Peel

Method

1. Crumble the salted flour and the butter (I used my finger tips and mix them until the flour becomes grainy). Knead together with sugar, yeast & milk into a smooth dough (I kneaded mine for at least 8 minutes) and then proof for an hour or until double in size.

2. In the meantime prepare the filling. Bring to boil Water, Butter and sugar. Mix in remaining ingredients to a smooth texture. Let it cool. Divide dough into 3 parts and then roll out each part into a rectangle. Layer with filling and roll.

3. Glaze with eggyolk and poke 20 times with a fork.

4. Bake at 150-170deg for 30mins.

* If you are too tired to do the filling preparations or did not have enough filling for your dough, you can substitute it with nutella spread, trust me its as good as the mohnstrudel filling, or even better.

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken

This is the very first dish that I ever cooked for my little boy during our courtship and I reckon I have left a lasting effect on him, so lasting that we are now married. Lol!
In this case,  first impression lasts forever. And the saying is true, " the way to a man's heart is through his stomach".
Trust me, this one is good.


Ingredients:
500g of chicken thigh deboned (with skin of course. Hehehe.)
1/2 cup of teriyaki sauce
lemon
salt and pepper
1/4 cup soy & sesame ginger sauce ( if you cant find a bottle of this in the grocery, then just combine soy sauce, minced ginger and sesame oil)
a dash of rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons of mirin ( if you cant find this in the grocery, then ignore), for some reason, putting mirin makes a big difference in the taste, making your teriyaki chicken more Japanese-ish.
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
2 tablespoons of sesame seeds

Marinate your chicken with all the ingredients for at least one hour. I usually marinate my chicken overnight or at least 6 hours for "lasting" effect. :)) Then grill to perfection. Hah!
If you are too lazy to prepare your grill then use a wide frying pan then fry...

Pecan Chocolate Pie

In the book, The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais, the protagonist weaves funny anecdotes and sometimes poignant memories of his journey from the quirky and dusky balmy town in India to the snow capped, spring smelling Switzerland and finally to the cosmopolitan, ritzy and shimmering lights of Paris, and from being a small, lanky and hopeful Indian boy with big dreams to becoming a French Chef with 3 michelin stars tucked under his belt. 

And in that book, it is said that a dish is only considered good when it stirs happy childhood memories, extracts sweet tastes of (your) past, reminds you of home, and the very core of who you are.

All of these were reenacted when Dara, a former colleague of my little boy, came running to him, with her eyes welling up with tears and her voice lined with emotions and said, "this pecan pie reminds me so much of the pie that my grandmother used to bake in San Francisco when I was a child".

When something like that truly evokes emotions in different folds, when something like that truly impacts someone's life positively and when something like that reconnects the young and the old then  you know you have done the right thing - baking this beautiful pecan pie for the world to see and enjoy.

For your Base/pie shell: click here for the recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 recipe basic crust

2 tbsp plain flour

170g ( 6 oz) light brown sugar

3 large eggs

340g (12 oz) golden syrup

28g (1 oz) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 tsp vanilla essence

pinch of salt

200g (7 oz) pecan halves and pieces

35g ( 3/4 oz) unsweetened cocoa

Preheat the oven to 220C. Roll out the pastry dough and line a 23-cm (9-in) pie dish. Crimp the end decoratively, Chill in the refrigerator while making the filling.

Combine the flour and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk in the eggs, golden syrup, butter, vanilla, and salt. Mix in 10Og (3 1/2 oz) of the pecans.

Remove the crust from the refrigerator and pour in the filling. Arrange or sprinkle the remaining pecans on top. Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 160C (325F) and bake for another 45 minutes or until set.

Transfer to a wire rack and cool for an hour.

Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

The one and only Moist Carrot Cake (Dedicated to Ada, Renee, Glenys and all the Leslie Robles' out there)

This is a best seller. Period. It is the one that nobody could resist. (Whether you are a carrot cake lover or not).

Ada (click here to know Ada better) said she never stands in line to buy anything but for this cake she will patiently wait and stand in line. Thank you my dear Ada, but this time you will no longer do that - here is the recipe at your beck and call. Because here I am, divulging the recipe - which is meant to be shared, as it is never mine in the first place; having found this through sleeplessinkl blog. 

Through this cake, I can vicariously live my dream of becoming a baker or patisserie owner. But for now, I am a self-indulgent wannabe. :-)

Ada, and other former colleagues of my little boy's,  Glenys  and Renee would humour me by simply having my creations and providing good feedbacks week in week out. They are part of the group that had pushed me to "rev up" this blog and transcendently inculcated the iota of hope in me that I have in fact the makings of a baker or a chef or a cook. I love these girls to bits and I miss having to cook more for my little boy and for them every week. Renee is extremely conscious of her diet all the time and tries so hard not to have any of my food. I always say, Renee is my benchmark and constant challenge. If she ate a certain creation from my food repertoire, then I did very well. Such is the case of this moist carrot cake. She totally digs it and forgets her diet...

This recipe is also dedicated to Leslie, who is a good friend and school mate from high school. She said, "Ate (big sister) I'm a bit scared to use my oven (and perhaps due to lack of time, she is working girl in UK, mommy and wife rolled into one), I haven't really baked." And so I say to her now, "this is your time to shine, this moist carrot cake recipe is the answer." I have been meaning to send her this recipe. Its so long overdue. Here it is, Les.  And for those baker wannabes like me or those wanting to bake for the first time (like Leslie), this recipe is no fail.  It's high time to shine. Lol!

*Inspired by Moist Carrot Cake from www.sleeplessinkl.com

Ingredients:
•    4 eggs
•    1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
•    1 cup white sugar
•    2 teaspoons vanilla extract
•    2 cups all-purpose flour
•    2 teaspoons baking soda
•    2 teaspoons baking powder
•    1/2 teaspoon salt
•    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•    3 cups carrots, grated coarsely
•    1 handful walnuts, coarsely chopped
•    1 handful pecans, coarsely chopped
•    1 handful of raisins (I recommend you use golden raisins) and small handful of sultanas


Ingredients for the frosting:

•    1/2 cup butter, softened
•    8 ounces cream cheese, softened (I prefer and use 3/4 of 1 box of philadelphia cheese)
•    2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
•    1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 175 degrees C (conventional oven) or 150 C (fan forced oven). Grease 2 round pans (9 inches) & line sides and bottom of pan with baking paper and grease lightly.
In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla.
Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
Stir in carrots (use shredder with bigger hole).
Fold in walnuts, pecans, raisins and sultanas.
Pour into prepared pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes (if your oven is small and can only take one pan at a time, then bake your carrot cake one pan at a time. Lol!), or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

* If you cant be bothered by two pans, then you can use a 9 inch pan with a baking time of 40-50 minutes. I use two pans as suggested by sleeplessinkl for easy and quick cooking time

To Make Frosting:

In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
Frost the cooled cake.

Garnish the top of the cake with almond slivers, if desired. You can play up and design your own frosting. For my carrot cake, I used marzipan then rolled my combined red and yellow concentrated food colouring agents through until the color turns into the color of a carrot then stuck some parsley stems on top of the marzipan rolled carrot.