When I'm bored.......

I used to try new recipes to cook.....now I try new recipes to bake.... About 12 days have passed since I gave birth, and I am one person who couldn't just lie down and keep still in my room during confinement. Ever since I gave birth to Yusof (no.2), I took care of myself, I didn't have the luxury of mom (mom spent 1 week with me after I delivered Khadijah)or MIL taking care of me...so, I'm left pretty much to my own devices and prerogatives as to what or how I handle myself during confinement!! And cooking has been part of my confinement routine.....otherwise dapur tak berasap....sian Yani...

Yes, I am very particular about this pantang thingy safe for a few things, like I gulp water like nobody's business contrary to the pantang larang of makbidan and makcik urut, I take fruits and veg, I go easy on jamus, but never fail to take supplements, nowadays its my organic spirulina and wheat grass and soya protein, this time round I try to take my fish and veg yang rebus rebus only with little salt....got to rid of the excess fat that I accumulate.....fast, coz when I put on my baju kurung pun last week .....I look hideous in it! I haven't weighed myself ever since Muhammad came out, but I feel I still have about 6 kgs to rid off.....The only pantang that I can't observe is masak....now bake and jalan-jalan.....no no I haven't gone to any shopping malls, etc.....but I usually bertandang at my mom's house once I reach the 30 day-mark!!

So, I was pretty bored last Friday (from Saturday until Thursday after I left the hospital, I spent the entire morning napping...recuperating), I checked my kitchen and supplies and found enough ingredients to try out this carrot cake recipe which uses golden syrup.....here goes:

Carrot Cake With Golden Syrup....

2 carrots (about 300 gm, grated)

150g self raising flour

75g plain flour

1tsp bicarbonate soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

80g muscovado sugar, I used CSR brown sugar that was available in my kitchen

185ml corn oil

125ml golden syrup, I used Lyle's, looking at the golden syrup in the recipe alone sold me!

3 large eggs, I used 41/2 medium that was available from my fridge

1tsp vanilla essence

You can add walnuts and raisins, I didn't as there weren't any at the point of baking..

Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius (my oven that is). I lined my 20cm round cake pan with parchment paper sprayed with baking spray and set aside. Got my maid to grate the carrots and set aside. Also got my maid to prepare all the other raw ingredients, no, I weighed them!!!! Couldn't leave the weighing with her, sat gi salah timbang semua tak jadi!

Sift the flours, bicarbonate soda and cinnamon powder in a large bowl.

Combine brown sugar, oil, golden syrup, eggs and vanilla in a separate bowl. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients using a wooden spoon. Stir in the grated carrots (and the walnuts and raisins if you have them).

Pour the mixture into baking pan, and bake for about 40 minutes or until skewer came out clean. Leave to cool and ice with cream cheese topping.

For cream cheese topping, I used I bar on Kraft's Philadelphia Cream Cheese 250g, 1/2 bar 125g of Tatura salted (tu aje yang ada!), whip them from slow to medium speed Ms Kmix until, pale, add in 1/2 tsp vanilla essence (I would have used 1/2 tsp lemon juice to give the tangy taste which goes very well with the cake) and 1 cup of icing sugar, no the cup yang you use to drink tea, but the measuring cup for dry ingredients (I didn't even sieve this time mim..lif...lam..sin...get it!!!)...

And the result was a yummy moist carrot cake, like the pic above....thank god I had Mrs N and SW and Dr Jab to join me and borak borak for tea that petang, joined by MIL, FIL, SIL....so, what's left of the cake were enough for hubby and Khadijah before I slumbered to zzzz that night!

Point to note, the other carrot cake recipe that I use came from Wiz which is also very yummy, I have to ask her permission before I can post it here! This golden syrup recipe originates from a magazine in Australia which I stumbled upon while of course during bloghopping...and of course I have tweaked the flour content a little bit...but give it a go! Inshaallah, jadi...

Next in the agenda is Kek Kukus Buah cara orang dulu dulu, ginger cuppies, lemon poppy seed cake with lime curd and strawberry cuppies and fuit tartlet with homemade custard.....tunggu....

P/s TM, yes, I do accept tetamu...mailah when you are free!!