Carrot cake and crochet

At the weekend I was once again in a baking mood so decided to have a go at something new, a carrot cake. On went the apron which immediately makes me feel much more like a domestic goddess. I used Mary Berrys recipe but just left out the walnuts as I’m not a big fan. In went the ingredients ready to mix, fresh eggs courtesy of our girls of course.

  
Once these were whizzed up, I added the carrots. I actually got asked by one of the kids if there’s actual carrot in carrot cake. It does make me worry slightly!

  
When I was adding the spices, the smell just took me back to my childhood and memories of my mum baking. They smelt heavenly. Then this image popped into my head…

  
Does anyone else remember Fred from Homepride? He had to feature in most kitchens in the 70’s, I’m sure!

Once the rest of the ingredients were all combined they were ready for the oven.

  
They don’t look too appetising at this stage do they?

While they’re baking, I’ll show you where I’m up to with my latest crochet project. I’m affectionately referring to it as the Cosy Kermit blanket!

  
It does look like it might glow in the dark doesn’t it?

  
It’s 16 stripes, 32 rows in so far. I don’t think I’ve made bad progress for about 12 days. I tried to get at least a couple of rows done each day. I’m still loving the easiness of this one too, not taxing on the brain at all when you’ve had a busy day. It’s just getting large enough to keep my lap warm too which is always a bonus.

Now, back to baking. As the cakes were cooling, I made the icing. Always the best bit in my opinion!

  

The decorating is the fun bit and I was so pleased to find my local sainsburys sold little chocolate carrots to finish it off perfectly.

Ta dah!……

   
    
 
The first slice went to Baby J, unfortunately before he got to eat it, the dog did! She seemed to like it anyway!

I’m actually quite pleased with my first attempt, it’s lovely and moist and the cream cheese icing is not too sweet, just right.

Before I leave you all, I wanted to share these beautiful daffodils with you.

  
My hubby brought them home from work for me. There’s that many I managed to split them into four vases so they bring a little sunshine all over the house.

Vicki xxx