acctv mothers day baking competition

a few days before mother's day i was doing my part for the school p&c and was packing orders for our online mothers day stall (thanks covid-19 ugh) at one of the other members house. of course i had alex with me and although he was doing his usual climbing onto to everything, he wasn't being too bad, or so i thought. oh my word. at one stage we heard something smash and there he is, pointing to a snowglobe that he's just dropped on the floor. ughhhhhhh. i was very apologetic and offered straight away to buy a replacement, but i was kindly assured that it was old and not sentimental and not to worry about it. thank goodness. but although i did not worry about it (a miracle for me), i still thought it would be a nice gesture to do something to apologise. cake. everyone loves cake. 

so i baked my favourite carrot cake (recipe here) and boxed it up nicely and took it around the next day. i was met with "you didn't need to" (i know) but they were very happy to have been thought of and it left me feeling good about what had happened - and what i had done to make it better.

then i saw a competition on the acctv facebook page asking for people to submit their cooking they had done during iso, in honour of their mum or related to mother's day. i thought what the heck, i'll enter, definitely related to mother's day and other mums - and what do you know, a week later...

i won!!!!!

i won a baking pack, including the anniversary edition of the cwa cookbook and i am stoked!!! cannot wait for it to arrive. what an awesome thing to have happen, something crappy, turned into something great. yay!

the very best carrot cake

i love a good carrot cake... and have made this one a few times these past few weeks. it is definitely my favourite and you should give it a try! you can find the original recipe here, but here it is, translated to australian measurements and the likes for your convenience.

easy frosted carrot cake

ingredients:

1 cup plain flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp bi-carb soda

1 tsp ground allspice

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups finely grated carrot

frosting:

2 tbsp softened butter

55g softened cream cheese

1 cup icing sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

directions:

1. combine flour, sugar, bi-carb, allspice and salt. beat in the oil. add eggs and beat well, then mix in carrot

2. pour into a greased and lined, 20x20cm tin and bake at 155 deg cel for 40-45 min, until tester comes our clean. cool on wire rack

3. when cool, combine cream cheese and butter until smooth. gradually beat in icing sugar and vanilla. spread over cake. store in fridge.

yum yum yum yummmmmm ♥

the best carrot cake

i love love love a good carrot cake and have spent years trying to find a good one. last year on pinterest i came across this one that i decided to give a whirl. i've made it about 10 times since and it is amazing! nice and moist, great icing and keeps super well in the fridge. i wish i could claim it as my own it's that good haha, but the best bit is that it doesn't have nuts in it. :) awesome for all the nut free necessity in the world today. give it a try, you will not be sorry!

ingredients

1 cup plain flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon bi-carb soda

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1-1/2 cups finely grated carrots

icing

2 tablespoons butter, softened

55g  cream cheese, softened

1 cup icing sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*1 tablespoon milk (only if you are making a bundt and want runnier icing)

method

in a large bowl, combine the flour, sugars, baking soda, allspice and salt. beat in vegetable oil. add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. stir in carrots.

pour into a lined 8-in. square baking dish. bake at 180 degrees celcius (160 fan forced) for 35-40 minutes.

for icing, in a small bowl, cream butter and cream cheese until smooth.gradually beat in the icing sugar and vanilla. spread over cake.

added bonus, this cake freezes really well and tastes just as good when defrosted.