The best carrot cake recipe

Hello, readers!

After a fair amount of searching and trials, I am pleased to say I have found the carrot cake recipe I consider to be THE BEST.  That might come across as a little controversial to carrot cake lovers as each tends to have his/her own favourite. However, what I love about this cake is of course the wonderful flavour, but also that it is dense and moist, and is ideal for decoration as it holds it shape well.

Carrot Cake
Recipe from 'Planet Cake: A beginners' guide to decorating incredible cakes'

Ingredients
170g self raising flour
170g plain flour
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
200ml vegetable oil
225g soft brown sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
125ml golden syrup
500g grated carrots
60g chopped pecans or walnuts

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees celciis. Grease the tin and the line the base and sides with a collar of baking paper that extends 2 cm above the top of the tin. Sift together the flours, spices and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Whisk together the oil, sugar, egg and golden syrup. Gradually pour into the well, stirring until combined. Stir in the carrots and chopped nuts.

2. Spoon the mixture into the tin and smooth the surface. Bake in the oven for 1 hour and 40 minutes or until a skewer poked into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

3. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Storage: Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 2 months.


That's all from me for now as motherly duty calls. Happy baking, everyone! xx

Edible dirt

A very brief post from me this evening to share my latest order - this wonderful little dump truck and dirt cake!

The idea for this cake came from a dump truck t-shirt my son wears... for months now I have looked at it time and time again and thought, I really would love to make a dump truck cake one of these days. And so it was added to my never-ending list of things to do should I ever find the time! It seemed Lady Luck was on my side this week when a Brisbane mum got in touch with me to request a last-minute cake request for her son Max's second birthday. The cake needed to be egg and gluten free due to dietary requirements. She didn't have a specific design in mind, but wanted something small for an intimate celebration, and perhaps something truck related. Piece of cake!

As you can see from the below shot, the cake was split into three layers and filled with creamy ganache. I then did an outer layer of ganache as I normally do before I would typically cover with fondant. Not this time! Instead, I created a scrumptious salted chocolate crumb to resemble dirt and used this on the exterior of the cake. I love the overall effect, and as I was lucky enough to be invited to share a piece, I can tell you that the crunchiness of the crumb against the moist cake and creamy ganache was really lovely.

Max was one delighted little boy. And for once his mum was happy to let him eat dirt! ;) Haha



Bye for now!

xx

Check out my website!

Hello dear followers...

It's been a very busy couple of weeks recently with some great orders, and I have also been busy finalising my website which is now LIVE!

To check it out, please visit: www.annatrivedicakes.com.au

Here are some recent additions to my portfolio...

This was a special order... the cake was eggless vanilla, and I made around 100 matching red velvet and chocolate cupcakes.

 A 35th anniversary corporate order for the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) at the University of New South Wales (UNSW).

A cute, diagonally striped cake.. and this soccer ball birthday cake in my delicious new flavour 'Caramel Lover' - caramel mud cake, salted caramel buttercream and chocolate ganache - mmmm! :)

A Ninjago themed chocolate cake for a little person...

And finally another addition to my bug themed monogram cakes... this time with pink and raspberry red stripes and ladybirds (of course!)

And two simple and elegant wedding cakes... Oh how I LOVE wedding cakes... hoping to make some more soon, so fingers crossed! :)

Stay tuned for another update soon! Have a great week everyone, and HAPPY SPRING! :)

Anna x

My Top 10 Baking Tips

Perfection is lots of little things done well

- Point.

If you live in Australia and you're thinking you've heard that quotation recently, chances are you watched this year's Masterchef episode featuring Marco Pierre White. He said this to the contestants a number of times, and I guess it kind of stuck with me too...

In all of my work, I strive for perfection. A perfectionist at heart, I always feel there is room for improvement, and I have no qualms about admitting that. I believe it will result in a better end product - which is good for my business, and good for my customers!

So here are some little things that I have learnt along the way about baking (more specifically, baking cakes and cupcakes).. they may be simple, but they all add up in the end.

1. Choose quality ingredients... and choose them wisely.
Quality ingredients like premium butter and high quality chocolate make for superb baked goods, but let's not forget about the simple egg. They might all look the same, but they're not. Unfortunately, most eggs in Australia are produced by caged battery farm hens. So choose wisely, and choose free range eggs! I use only free range eggs in all of my baking. It's the humane choice, and many of my customers say the tastier one too!


2. The oven - always give your oven at least 20 minutes to preheat, and place the cake in the centre of the middle rack. The will help ensure even cooking.

3. Start with all of your ingredients at room temperature. Obviously this isn't an issue with the dry ingredients like flour and sugar, but you'll need to take out your eggs, milk and butter well in advance. Softened butter creams beautifully, and that combined with everything else at room temperature will ensure your ingredients blend together really smoothly. Plus, eggs used at room temperature will give your cake more 'lift'.

4. Adapting pan sizes. Do you get frustrated when a recipe calls for a square/round tin and you've only got the opposite? Don't be! There's a knack to figuring out the equivalence. If a recipe calls for an 8 inch square tin, you can use a 9 inch round tin instead (so for square to round, add an inch). And if a recipe calls for an 8 inch round you can use a 7 inch square tin instead (so for round to square, deduct an inch). This is given the pan sizes are of the same depth, of course.

5. Is it done yet? Don't entirely rely on the cooking times in the recipe you are following. Allow for variations from oven to oven, as well as slight variations in tin sizes, and so on. A rough way to check if your cake is cooked is to touch the top (with care of course - it's hot). If it springs back to the touch, chances are it's either done or very close to it. To be sure though, a skewer test is the best check. Poke a thin metal skewer into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean it's done.

6. Economise where possible. Why waste time and money where you needn't. Next time you finish a block of butter, fold up the wrapper and keep it in the fridge - they are ideal for greasing tins! And if a recipe calls for buttermilk, don't rush out and buy a carton - it's easy to make yourself! For 75ml buttermilk combine 10ml of white vinegar and 65ml whole milk in a small bowl and leave it for 5 minutes - voila :) Those are just a couple of my tips - but I'm sure you have a few up your own sleeve already!

7. Patience is golden. When you take a cake out of the oven. and it looks and smells divine.. put it on a rack, and give it at least  minutes before you turn it out. Hot cake is very unstable, and is far more likely to split, break and be ruined if you try and turn it out hot! And while we're on the topic of patience.. always wait for your cake to cool completely before icing it - especially if you're using cream cheese, whipped cream or buttercream. If it is even mildly warm, the icing will alas melt :(

8. To crust or not to crust. Ah, that is the question... Want a crust? Leave your cake to cool on the wire rack uncovered. Don't want one? Leave it too cool on the wire rack with a clean cotton tea towel draped over it. You'll be left with a softer top and sides, and (in my experience) a slightly moister cake!

9. Clean as you go. Booo - yes I know it's the boring part of baking, but it's necessary.. Just think - if you clean as you go, when you're all done you'll be able to sit down with a nice cuppa and a slice of whatever it is you've made without having to worry about a sink full of dirty dishes! The way I work is - as soon as the cake is in the oven I wash everything up and wipe the bench down. Then if I'm decorating the cake later my work area is ready. Also - I like to wash my cake tins as soon as I turn the cake out of them. They're much easier to wash when they're warm and before they crust up. Plus - then you can stick the tin back in the warm oven to dry upside down.

10. Short supplies - avoid last minute dashes to the shops with these tips. Get into the habit of keeping a carton of UHT whole milk in the cupboard. If you've run out of self-raising flour, don't panic. For each cup of plain flour, add two teaspoons of baking powder. Alternatively, you can add half a teaspoon of baking powder and half a teaspoon of bicarbonate soda. Finally, if you're all out of chocolate chips simply chop up come chocolate (this is now my preference!).


So there you have it... my top 10 baking tips in a single post! What are you tips and tricks when it comes to baking? I would love to hear yours, dear readers!

Anna x

This week in review

Phew! At last a day to put my feet up and spend some time with my family :) It's been a very busy week. I completed a fantastic training course, made a few small cakes and have been busy with business admin stuff. Ahhhh admin, the boring yet necessary part of my new business. Anyway, here are  few snaps for you all...

First, my 'Little Bee Cake'...

And then this Ninjago cake for a young Lego ninja loving client client...

Finally, here are the results from my training course at Handi's Cakes this week. I created this double barrel, two tier cake with a beautiful pearl lustre finish and sugar magnolias. I love love love making sugar flowers... I may have found a new vice!

The original plan was to add some piping detail to the bottom tier, but once I had applied the lustre finish I felt it already looked so elegant that it really did not need it in addition to the flowers. As you can see in the picture below, when the light hits the finish it looks so pretty (and even prettier by night!). This cake makes me want to get married again - such a classy look!

That's all from me for now...

If you haven't already liked my business page and you'd like to follow what I'm up to, here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/annatrivedicakes

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, everyone :)

Anna x

A quick update

Hello, dear readers!

Just a quick update from me to let you all know what I have been up to.

I have been busy at work getting organised for my business, Anna Trivedi Cakes. I have sorted my logo out and I am so so pleased with it, but there is still so much more to do. At any rate, here it is... It simply had to include the ladybirds ;)

I have been getting quite a few orders which is very exciting! The latest was this cute Winnie the Pooh inspired first birthday cake for a little boy in my mother's group. I absolutely love bunting on children's birthday cakes. No, actually, I love bunting on just about anything!! Anyway, I love the way the colours in the bunting ties the design together. I also ensured some of the bunting triangles came away from the cake a little to give the effect of them blowing in the breeze rather than having a cookie-cutter effect. I think it's details like these that can really lift a cake.

And last but not least (The Emperor is about to wake from his afternoon nap and I must rush I'm afraid), I have learnt of a fantastic opportunity for all you baking enthusiasts here in Australia. I recently received an email from a casting director for Channel 9. Here's the brief:


THE GREAT AUSTRALIAN BAKE OFF!
Are you a keen amateur baker? Are you passionate about your hobby? Can you turn out a fantastic cake, tart or loaf of bread? Are you ready to put your skills to the ultimate test?

The Nine Network is making an exciting prime time series called "The Great Australian Bake Off" and we are looking for amateur bakers from across the country to take part. During the series, our bakers will be put to a series of tasks where one lucky participant will be crowned Australia’s best amateur baker!

However long you’ve been baking for, we’d love to hear from you! Apply now!

https://bakeoff.castasugar.com/




Will update you all again soon! Take care for now

xoxox

Ballerina Bear Cake

I have been busy at work this week experimenting with cake flavours and rather than letting the cakes go to waste, I have been using them to practise some new designs and figurines. My favourite of the week is this cute six inch Ballerina Bear cake. Next time I make this design I think I'll incorporate a little tulle tutu to turn her into a true prima ballerina bear!

And to turn girly into ueber-girly, I opted for some very feminine and fragrant flavours for the cake. This was a cardamom-spiced butter cake brushed with a rosewater sugar syrup, then layered and covered in saffron infused white chocolate ganache. Cutting into the cake smelled like heaven, and it tasted as pretty as it smelled!

I aim to offer a great range of flavours in my cakes - from the classic to the modern. May no flavour be left unturned in pursuit of cakely perfection! With my 300 plus followers out there, who better to ask about cake than you!


So tell me, dear readers, what sort of flavours would you like to enjoy in a cake at a special celebration? I look forward to reading your replies :)


Anna x

PS - If you like what you see here, why not follow me on Facebook? www.facebook.com/annatrivedicakes

Anna Trivedi Cakes

Hi everyone,

It's been a while since my last update - tut, tut, tut! Well I have been quite busy between one thing and another. Looking after The Emperor keeps me busy on one hand, but I have also been hard at work at starting my own cake business! Yes, I have decided to get a bit more serious about making cakes. I thought it was about time I stop talking about doing it and actually DO it!

Here are some pictures of my recent work...

I called this beautiful giraffe 'Sophie' after The Emperor's much-loved (and chewed) teething toy. Sophie was made complete with beautiful lashes and a cheeky tongue! This was a cake I made as part of some of my recent training at Planet Cake in Balmain, and was donated to the Ronald McDonald House in Randwick. The kids were thrilled to bits to enjoy such a fun chocolate cake for dessert :)

I've also been making some birthday cakes for children in my mothers' group recently. This drum cake was for a little boy of Swedish heritage, so it was befitting that blue and yellow be included in the design.

And another first birthday cake. This one based on the popular children's book 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar'. I read this book to The Emperor every night before he goes to sleep so I am very familiar with the story. Making all the little food figurines in reference to the book was a lot of fun.

That's all from me for now, but hopefully it will not be too long before I update again with more cake shots!


Anna x

Cookbook of the Month - April 2012

Happy Easter, everyone! I hope you're enjoying some quality time with your loved ones over the Easter break.

Today I am delighted to let you all know that the Cookbook of the Month feature is back on Diary of a Ladybird! This month's featured cookbook comes from the 2011 winner of MasterChef Australia, Kate Bracks. Her newly released book 'The Sweet Life' is a sweet book indeed, a compilation of mouth-watering dessert recipes. Some will ring a bell to the MasterChef fans out there with recipes such as Kate's apple pie, coffee cake and her date and hazelnut torte. But there are plenty of fantastic looking, fresh and innovative  recipes too and and I'm so excited to share some of them with you all as I taste-test my way through the book.

Here is the first recipe I've tried so far - a great basic chocolate cake. This one is great for getting little ones involved in the kitchen, and I think the result is one that would please kids and adults alike. A great texture and not too sweet.. am definitely going to make this one again!

The Australian colloquialism 'bung' essentially means to quickly throw together, so this is the type of cake recipe where you throw it all in a bowl, stir it together, and you're done! :)

Bung-In Chocolate Cake
From 'The Sweet Life' by Kate Bracks


Cake
300g (2 cups) self-raising flour
350g (1.5 cups) caster sugar
35g (1/3 cup) cocoa powder
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp vanilla extract
350ml (1 1/3 cups) milk
150g butter, melted*
* Kate notes in her introduction that, in all her recipes, she recommends the use of regular (i.e. salted) butter rather than unsalted butter.

Icing
200g (1 1/4 cups) icing sugar mixture
2 tbsp cocoa powder
30g butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius. Grease a 23cm (base measurement) square tin and line the base with baking paper.

2. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl, and stir to combine. Make a well in the centre and add the wet ingredients. Whisk gently, gradually taking in the dry ingredients from the side of the bowl. Keep whisking until the mixture is smooth.

3. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then run a knife around the edge to separate the cake from the tin. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

4. To make the icing, sift the icing sugar and cocoa powder into a bowl. Add the melted butter and vanilla extract, and enough milk to get it to a paste consistency, stirring vigorously until smooth. You may not need all the milk. If it is too thick, add more milk. If it is too runny, add more icing mixture.

5. Once the cake has cooled, smother the top with chocolate icing.

Nom nom nom... stay tuned for more from 'The Sweet Life'!

Ladybird xxx

The WWE Wrestling Cake

A quick show-and-tell post from me today - life has got in the way of blogging of late, but I am so happy that July has turned out to be such a great month for cake decorating!

This World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) cake was for young James who turned 8 last week - he is a BIG wrestling fan, so a wrestling cake was an obvious choice for the occasion.

It was a lot of fun resarching and making this cake - never have I paid so much attention to wrestlers' oompa loompa like skintone, oh-so-stylish mullets, and their equally dapper costumes!

This was my first time at creating figurines for a cake.. a little daunting, but I was happy with the result for a first attempt, especially with the little details such as their six-packs and burly muscles.

But the best part of all...? James's reaction to his cake as captured by his mum on camera and shared with me the next day - now there's a little grin that made it all the more worthwhile :)

Till next time,

Ladybird x

PS - I've had a couple of enquiries about cake orders this month so I thought I'd just make a general announcement regarding this through my blog... Yes, I am definitely open to doing cake/cupcake orders in the Sydney area :) If you are interested and would like to get in touch with me, please email me at diaryofaladybird[at]gmail[dot]com.

The joy of creating birthday cakes

It is always an honour to be asked to make a cake for someone for a special occasion, but to be asked to create a cake celebrating someone's birthday is truly special... A birthday marks the day you made your debut to the world - and there is only one of you in the whole world, so what a special debut it is! It is for this reason that I genuinely love creating birthday cakes and cupcakes for others, regardless of whether I know the birthday girl/boy personally or not. I do love the feel good vibe of being involved in a happy occasion, even if it is in a very small way by making a cake...

I recently had the pleasure of making this birthday cake for a relative celebrating her 20th birthday. The brief was simple and to the point. Flavour? chocolate. Colour? red. Simple briefs like that are some of my favourite because they just beg for a little creative thinking. In this case, I created a 7 inch eggless chocolate cake layered with a lovely milk/dark chocolate ganache. I then decorated it with RTR fondant in a 50s inspired polka dot and bow theme for a girl who loves the colour red... Her smile upon seeing it was well worth the effort :)

Here is my 'go to' recipe for a lovely eggless chocolate cake - a must in a baker's repertoire in case of allergies or eggless preference orders!

Eggless Chocolate Cake

An adpated recipe from Divine Taste

Ingredients

200 gm (1 1/2 cups) plain flour

50 gm (1/4 cup) cocoa powder*
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda/ sodium bicarbonate
4 teaspoons caster sugar
1 tin/400gm sweetened condensed milk
150g unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp good quality vanilla essence
150 ml water

* I have had most success with 'Cadbury's Bournville Cocoa' from the supermarket. My trials with richer cocoa powders such a dutch cocoa powder have been unsuccessful.

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 100 - 120 degrees celcuis. Grease and line the bottom of a round cake tin with greaseproof paper/baking parchment/butter paper. I used a 7 inch cake tin, but an 8 or 9 inch would work equally well.

2. Into a mixing bowl, sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and sugar. Whisk together briefly to ensure a uniform mixture.

3. Add in the condensed milk, melted butter, vanilla essence and water. Beat with an electric hand mixer, whisk or spoon just until the mixture is uniform and smooth and there are no lumps. This shouldn’t take more than a minute with an electric hand mixer/beater. Be careful not to over beat as this tends to stiffen the batter which might result into a harder textured cake.

4. Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for an hour at 150 degree celcius.

5. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely, then ice/decorate as desired.

Tip: When baking cakes without eggs, it is essential to ensure you cake is cooked all the way through before removing it from the oven. Failure to do so will sadly result in a sunken cake... To avoid this, do a cake skewer test in the centre of the cake, even if you're confident it's cooked properly.

And voila, a beautiful chocolate cake - here is an innards shot!

Of course, the overall result with the flavour was enhanced by both the sugar syrup and chocolate ganache I used in assembling the cake before covering it with fondant. For your reference, here are the recipes to each of these.

Sugar Syrup

Recipe from the Planet Cake book by Paris Cutler

100g apricot jam

100ml boiling water

2 teaspoons Cointreau (optional)

- Whisk together the jam and hot water in a small bowl, then pass through a sieve to remove any lumps. Once cool, stir in the liqueur and use as required.
- Some people like to brush layers of cake with a pastry brush, however, I often prefer a small (and of course, clean) spray bottle -  it's quick, easy, and no risk of brush fibres being left behind in the cake!


Milk/dark chocolate ganache
This is an original Diary of a Ladybird recipe which I believe is ideal for cakes/cupcakes for children or those who don't like dark chocolate very much)

400g dark chocolate, finely chopped
400g milk chocolate, finely chopped
2 cups pure cream

1. Place the chocolate in a heatproof bowl.
2. Heat the cream to boiling point then remove from heat.
3. Pour the cream over the chocolate and stir until combined.
4. Allow to cool and set (ideally) overnight.

Tips

- You can store extra ganache in the fridge for up to a week, but ensure your cream has at least a week's shelf life from the date you use it. Then when you need to use it, remove it from the fridge and soften it by warming it up in short bursts (10 - 15 seconds) in the microwave.

- If you are make a larger amount of ganache, you can store it in the freezer in smaller containers. Then just take it out and let it come up to room temperature before you need to use it. You can then soften it in the same way you would if it were straight out of the fridge.

Until next time, dear readers...
Ladybird xxx

New York Cheesecake

Happy 4th of July! Oh, how I had grand plans of creating something lovely especially for all my loyal readers in the US and those celebrating the 4th of July around the world, something as I had done last year with my Independence Day Cupcakes... alas, it has been a most busy weekend!

Nonetheless, I simply had to make something to mark Independence Day - so what better than a pure, unadulterated classic like a New York Cheesecake? Since making this cake, I've been wondering about the history of this iconic cake but my online searches have largely been unfruitful .. From a couple of sources I have read that this simple style of cheesecake was very popular in New York in the early 1900s. I'm not sure if this is true though, so if any of you readers know, please share! I do love a good morsel of culinary history ;)

New York Cheesecake
Adapted recipe from Good Taste magazine (May 2008)

Ingredients

1 x 250g pkt plain sweet biscuits (I used a combination of 'Digestive' & Arnott's 'Nice' biscuits)
125g unsalted butter, melted
750g cream cheese, at room temperature
215g (1 cup) caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp finely grated lemon rind
2 tbs plain flour
4 eggs
1 x 300ml ctn sour cream
raspberries to serve (optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160°C. Lightly grease, and line the base of a 23cm (base measurement) springform pan with non-stick baking paper.

2. Place the biscuits in the bowl of a food processor and process until finely crushed. Add the butter and process until well combined. Transfer to the lined pan. Use a straight-sided glass to spread and press the biscuit mixture firmly over the base and side of pan, leaving 1cm at the top of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.

3. Meanwhile, use an electric beater to beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and lemon rind in a large bowl until just combined. Beat in the flour. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition until combined. Stir in the sour cream until just combined.

4. Pour the cream cheese mixture into the base.

Place the pan on a baking tray and bake for 1 1/4-1 1/2 hours or until just set in the centre. Turn oven off. Leave the cheesecake in oven, with the door ajar, for 2 hours or until cooled completely (this will prevent cheesecake from cracking). Place in the fridge for 4 hours to chill.

5. Cut into wedges, and serve with a few raspberries.


This recipe produces a delicious result! Wishing you all a very happy 4th of July, whatever may be on your menu tomorrow :)


Ladybird x

How to make an eggless cake

Actually... let me make that - How to make a good eggless cake!

My mission to find a good, basic eggless cake recipe goes back years. Many of Mr Ladybird's family don't eat eggs, and as an avid baker I have always been on the lookout for baked goodies that they can enjoy without eggs, but without sacrificing on flavour and texture. I can't tell you how many eggless cake recipes I've tried in the past only to be disappointed by sometimes bad/sometimes mediochre results. It is quite a challenge to create a tasty eggless cake that exhibits all the qualities you'd expect of a nice cake - good flavour, texture, height and crumb. I thought it an impossible task - until now! The result is a little denser than your average cake, but certainly a good result nonetheless...

Last week I came across a basic eggless cake recipe that struck me as being a little different to those I'd trialled in the past. Unlike others that included vinegar, yoghurt, egg replacement powders and a myriad of other ingredients, this one was a little different. The secret ingredient...?

Sweetened condensed milk!

I was so pleased with the result that I knew I had to share this recipe with you straight away. This recipe is one I've slightly adapted from a fantastic blog I've found called Divine Taste - well written posts with great recipes, and always accompanied by beautiful food photography.

This is a useful recipe to know in case you ever need to make an eggless cake - be it because of someone's allergy, personal preference, or even if it's because you don't have any eggs left in your kitchen! Using a good quality vanilla extract makes all the difference here - so please don't use the artifical stuff (i.e. vanilla essence) if you can avoid it. It is well worth paying a little more for real extract. You can get creative with this recipe too. You could even adjust the baking time and use the batter to make eggless cupcakes. This time around I simply cut it into 2 layers and sandwiched it with warmed strawberry jam and whipped cream before showering the top with icing sugar.

Basic Eggless Cake
Recipe adapted from Divine Taste

250g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda / sodium bicarbonate
1 tin (395g) sweetened condensed milk
100g unsalted butter, melted
175ml milk/water (I used 175ml low fat milk)
2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Grease and line the bottom of a 20cm round cake tin with baking paper. Preheat your oven to 100-120 degrees celcuis.

2. Sift the flour, baking powder and sodium bicarb into a bowl and whisk to combine and ensure the mixture is uniform.

3. Add the condensed milk, melted butter, vanilla essence and milk/water into the mixing bowl containing the dry ingredients one at a time, using an electric hand mixer, whisk or spoon to mix until the batter comes together and there are no lumps. This shouldn’t take more than a minute with an electric hand mixer/beater. Be careful not to over beat the mixture as this could result into a hard cake.

4. Inrease your oven temperature to 150 degrees celcuis and pour the batter into the cake tin and bake for
50 - 60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and use as required.

Have you ever tried making eggless cakes? If you know of any good recipes, why not share your links here!


Ladybird x

PS - I thought I might also mention that I had a media mention on a UK news site earlier this month! You can read the full article here.