Carrot Cake

               

Red carrots are seasonal and more nutritious than the regular orange carrot that we get year round.. It has got its own kind of sweetness, moistness and flavour which makes it a better choice than regular carrots.. Whenever the season of red carrots commence, in my home everybody starts raving for the dishes made out of red carrot, be it fresh carrot juice, gajar ki sabji, our traditional gajar ka halwa or carrot cake..

                Generally everybody makes carrot cake with regular orange carrot and i seldom see people making it with red carrots.. If it has to be a carrot cake in my home, it has to be made with red carrots.. And so its a treat for us making this cake in winters when the red carrots are available in market..

                Now when we are so particular about the red carrots, then dont you think I should try making it a bit healthier than regular cake.. And so below is my attempt to making this carrot cake healthy without compromising on taste factor.. My family or friends who tasted this cake, didnt know it was made of wheat flour till the time it was told by me.. It had the same softness and moistness as other regular cakes.. Infact it was better than other cakes, as red carrots had their own moistness and sweetness.. This cake is just not heavy on the palette and you can have it guilt free (though having some guilt is always good for your health.. ;) ) Hope you all enjoy this cake..

Ingredients:

1 cup + 3tbsp whole wheat flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1tsp baking powder

1 cup brown sugar

1.5 cups grated carrots

1/2 tsp salt

1tsp cinnamon powder

1/2 tsp clove powder

5tbsp olive oil

1tbsp white vinegar

1 cup cold water

Method: Preheat oven at 180c.. Seive whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon powder and clove powder together in a bowl.. In another bowl, mix water, vinegar and olive oil.. Add in grated carrots and brown sugar.. Mix well and add the seive flour in this.. Whisk it well till no lumps remain.. Pour it in a greased baking tray and bake at 180c for around 35mins till the skewer comes out clean..

Note: You can play around with the spices of your choice in the cake.. Instead of clove use nutmeg powder.. Or just add cinnamon powder and not any other spice.. It depends on your taste bud completely.. Just be sure you donot add lot of spices to the cake, otherwise it would dominate the cake and not let the flavour of carrot come out..

You can even add walnuts in the cake batter for a nutty taste in between..

                       

 Mix whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon powder and clove powder

                                  Mix water, vinegar and oil

                                               Add in grated carrots and brown sugar.. Mix well..

                                   Add in the flour mixture..

                                       Pour in a greased tray and bake in preheated oven at 180c

                                         Straight out of the oven..

Stuffed Apple Pie

"If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe." -- Carl Sagan

                Apple pie has known to be one of the most noblest desserts and is loved and savoured by people all over the world from ages.. Im not a fan of apple personally..I always tried to avoid having an apple all my life.. Till the time i had and apple pie.. It was the first time in Germany when i had tasted an apple pie and just loved the amazing taste of mushy apples, blended with the scent and flavour of cinnamon.. And then there was no turning back.. yes,, but only apple pie and not apples.. From then on I had never shunned away from trying the apple based desserts.. But still i could not get the same taste and flavour of the apple pie as i had it the very first time.. Untill i tried this stuffed apple pie...

                This stuffed apple pie is a modern age form of the classic old apple pie which is made using a pie crust as the base.. I always made the classic apple pie untill I saw this recipe in one of the cooking shows and wanted to give it a try.. As it seemed very easy and interesting.. Apple pie served in a very different manner which is even healthier...

               My dad loves having cinnamon based desserts.. Come winters,, and this is one thing he savours a lot.. Warm apple pie, straight out of the oven,, served with ice-cream...

Stuffed Apple Pie

Ingredients:

1 green apple ( i used granny smith apple)

2 tbsp crumbles sponge cake

2tbsp finely chopped apples (I used the scooped apple flesh after discarding the core)

1tsp butter

1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

1tsp sugar

For the pie crust:

3tbsp flour

2tbsp cold butter

1tbsp ice cold water

Method: For the pie crust: In a bowl take the flour and using your fingers mix in the butter till it resembles like a bread crumb.. Add in water and mix until the dough comes in together.. Cover and place it in refrigerator till you make the apple filling...

Chop off the top of the apple and scoop it from inside to make a hollow. In a bowl add crumbled cake, chopped apple, butter, sugar and cinnamon powder together  and mix well. Fill this in the hollow apple, pressing the mixture firmly.

Roll out pie crust and cut 1/4 inch strips and make a lattice pattern on the top of the apple covering the stuffing. Trim the edges with a knife to give an even shape.

Preheat oven to 220c. Take a baking tray and fill it with water as much to cover the base of the tray. Place apple in the tray and bake it at 220c for 25mins approximately till the pie crust turns golden brown and the apple is soft and mushy to touch. Remove and let it stand for a few minutes.. You will see the apple has turned pale green in color and also as it cools, the outside of the apple develops wrinkles.. It is fine..  Serve with ice-cream of your choice.. I served with butterscotch icecream for a nutty flavour and crunch..

Variations: Instead of cake crumble you can even use a cereal mix like oats and muesli for the stuffing making it even more healthy. Substitute honey instead for sugar.. It gives a very different flavour all together... Can add chopped almonds and walnuts too for a nutty flavour..