The Perfect Carrot Cake

Everyone loves a good carrot cake. It's one of those treats that you can kid yourself its healthy and can be counted as one of your five a day. Of course, you can use low-fat cheese or leave the cake unfrosted. It will still be delicious, personally I like it with out.

INGREDIENTS
For the cake
350g carrots
60g pecans
110g self-raising flour
110g plain wholemeal flour
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
240ml vegetable oil
170g soft brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tablespoons golden syrup

The topping (optional)
200g cream cheese
60g softened unsalted butter
60g sifted icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

METHOD
1) Start off by grating 350g carrots and chopping 60g pecans. Put to one side.

2) Sieve together 110g self-raising flour and 110g plain wholemeal flour with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon nutmeg and 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda. Tip the bran bits left in the sieve into the mixture.

3) Whisk together 240ml vegetable oil, 170g soft brown sugar, 4 eggs and 2 tablespoons golden syrup.

4) Add this to the dry ingredients and mix until it’s nice and smooth. Stir in the carrots and pecans.

5) Tip the mixture into a greased lined 9" round tin and cook at 160°C for an hour, or until cooked.

6) For the topping, mix 200g cream cheese, 60g softened unsalted butter, 60g sifted icing sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla essence, until smooth. Allow the cake to cool and then add the topping. It will keep for a few days in an airtight container.

Tweet

Human Breast Milk Ice Cream @ Icecreamist

Only days after going on sale Westminster City Council have seized boutique ice cream shop, Icecreamist's, human breast milk ice cream following two complaints from the public over whether a shop should be selling edibles made from other people's bodily fluids. The local authority is currently awaiting guidance from the Food Standards Agency.

The human breast milk ice cream named "Baby Gaga" went on sale last Friday at the Icecreamists restaurant in London's Covent Garden and amazingly sold out of it's first batch.

Priced at £14 pounds, the ice cream was made with breast milk, Madagascan vanilla pods and lemon zest.

The Icecreamists said the breast milk was donated by mothers who responded to an online advertisement on mothers' forum Mumsnet, each being paid £15 for each 10 oz donation. All the milk "was screened in line with hospital/blood donor requirements." says owner and founder Matt O'Connor.


Source: YouTube

What's next breast milk cheese, skinny breast milk cappuccino? At what stage does it become unacceptable of what we put in our mouths? For instance, human blood, we eat black pudding which is pigs blood. Why can't we have human black pudding it's not flesh so it's not classed as cannibalism, yet that seams unacceptable but on the same premise as the breast milk it's a fluid and carries key nutrients that are good for us?

Lily Kwok's Chinese Chicken Curry

I really enjoy a good curry whether its Indian or Chinese but trying to replicate them at home is fairly hard. I stumbbled across this recipe for Lily Kwok's chicken curry a few years ago.

Lily Kwok opened Lung Fung, on Taylor Street Manchester, one of the first Chinese restaurants in the country, in 1959. Her distinctively creamy Lily Kwok curry became famous. Lily’s daughter Mabel continued in the family business and in 2004 her three granddaughters, became the third generation of women restaurateurs, opening the Sweet Mandarin restaurant in Manchester, where they still serve Lily Kwok’s Chicken Curry.

This is a fairly spicy curry as my sister will tell you (sorry sis), so adjust the amount of chilli's according to taste.

INGREDIENTS
For the sauce
6 tbsp vegetable oil
3 onions, finely chopped
4 cm piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
4 mild fleshy red chillies, seeds removed and chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tbsp chilli powder
2 1/2 tsp curry powder
125 ml water
2 1/2 tsp plain flour
2 1/2 tsp self-raising flour
400 - 500 ml chicken or vegetable stock

For the chicken
3-4 tbsp cornflour
2 chicken breasts
2 tbsp oil
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp fresh peas


METHOD
1) For the sauce: Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan or wok over a high heat. Add the onion and stir-fry for 3 minutes, or until starting to soften but not brown. Add the ginger, garlic and chillies and continue stir-frying for 30 seconds, then reduced the heat to very low and leave to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened but nothing browns.

2) Stir in the turmeric, cumin, coriander, chilli powder and curry powder and continue cooking very gently for a further 5 minutes. Don’t burn the spices or the sauce will taste bitter. Sprinkle on a few drops of water if you’re worried. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool a little.

3) Put the water in a food processor or blender and add the contents of the pan. Blend until everything is very smooth, then add both the flours and blend again. Put the puréed mixture back into the pan and simmer for 20–30 minutes (the longer the better) over a very low heat, stirring occasionally. Add a little hot water if it starts to catch, but the idea is to gently ‘fry’ the sauce so that it darkens in colour to an orangey brown. Once you have a thick paste, gradually stir in the stock and simmer until the curry sauce has reduced.

4) For the chicken: season the cornflour with salt and pepper to taste, and toss the chicken strips in this to coat them. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Add the chicken pieces and stir-fry for a couple of minutes until they turn white. Add the onion and peas and stir-fry for a further few minutes, then stir in the curry sauce and heat until everything is piping hot. Serve immediately with boiled rice.