topsham teashop trip.

exeter university has made some kind of deal with the weather people: wednesdays in this term are open days and they are always sunny. whereas every other day we are subjected to the exeter deluge (which they don't tell you about in the prospectus!) so this wednesday was no exception so april and i decided to leave the exeter confines behind for an afternoon and head to topsham, which is only a short journey away on the train.

we had been before for the bonfire night display but never during the day. i can tell you it was well worth the visit! it is one of the cutest places ever, each twist of the little streets reveals something else that makes you want to pack up your bags and retire. this includes the baking delights that are available for purchase.

after a little wander around, including exploring the three-storey antiques warehouse, we visited shaul's for lunch. we both had the bacon and brie paninis which were really nice (but perhaps lacking in a sauce, some red onion chutney would have finished them off perfectly). this was our savoury stop although they had so many cream cakes on offer it was hard to walk out!

april and her panini

 

 

not a great photo but you can't complain when you finally get to see some sunshine!

so for our afternoon treat we went to the cafe. from the outside i was a bit dubious - it looks quite expensive and that can sometimes mean unwelcoming. however the story was very different once we got inside. as you walk in the door you are greeted by the very welcome sight of their display of cakes. we had to spend a good ten minutes deciding what we wanted.

then you take a seat in the delightful collection of mismatched furniture and get waited on.

we decided to share a slice of the lemon drizzle cake and the apple crumble cake. for the latter we got asked if we wanted it heated up with cream (stupid question really!) but this wasn't just a jug of cream - this was a proper dollop of clotted cream!!

the lemon drizzle cake is at the front and the apple crumble cake at the back

 



i haven't had lemon drizzle which then has frosting on top before but it was a nice combination of crunchy and creamy. the sponge itself also had pockets of lemon curd which was really yummy!

 

apple crumble cake complete with clotted cream!



unfortunately as we were digging into these gorgeous cakes we realised that our train was due so we had to gobble up the last bits and make a quick exit. (the only way to end a rather impromptu day!) so it was not quite the relaxing affair that we could have wished for but that just means we'll have to go back soon!

love,
nen
x

cat-got-the-cream carrot cake.

as i write this i am still riding the high from watching beyonce's half-time superbowl performance, ah-maz-ing! seriously, if you haven't seen it go and watch it then proceed to dance around your room to her hits!

but now onto a more cakey note... this weekend april and i furthered our baking adventures and made a carrot cake (to kid ourselves that if was perfectly acceptable to eat two slices of it a day...)

this is a cake i discovered later than most other types, because like most people the idea of a vegetable based cake was not top of my list. however once i discovered it i was an instant convert - it's so moist and light and then there's the cream cheese topping... (insert drool here!)

surprise surprise this was another hummingbird recipe, from the first book though as i think the one in cake days looks a bit fiddly.

ingredients and recipe book all ready to go

the use of oil rather than butter means this recipe has much less fat than most cake recipes. it also makes the sponge lighter, which is great combined with the texture of the chopped walnuts.

use a long bladed knife for chopping nuts. place the tip in the centre of the board and, resting your palm on the top of the blade, lift up and down without lifting the point from the board. work from side to side and occasionally rotate the board.

mix the grated carrot and walnuts in by hand so as not to overwork the mixture.

the recipe book said to bake the cakes for 20-25 minutes which, before we even started, seemed hopelessly optimistic. it took much closer to an hour. remember it is important that the cake is cooked! if the tops are catching turn the oven temperature down and cover them with foil. similarly it is best not to cook cakes on the top shelf as they are likely to catch.

another tip is to buy cake tins of the same size! makes constructing the cake much easier...!

while the cake is in the oven it's a great opportunity to make the cream cheese frosting (which does still have butter in it!)

(please excuse the scruffy hair)

once again this is a hummingbird frosting recipe so it makes sooooo much! similarly it's a nightmare to make without a cloud of icing sugar enveloping everything (including hair, clothes and glasses...)

stirring in the cream cheese

all ready to go (minus a few 'tasters'....)

another note: wait for your cakes to cool! (yeah we were impatient again!) this is important, especially with frosting and even more so with cream cheese in it. we did hold out for longer this time but the frosting between the two sponges definitely melted a bit...

the finished product







the cinnamon and chopped walnuts sprinkled on the top make a great finishing touch

going quickly...

first slice (complete with melted frosting, but hey sacrifices can be made for warm cake...)

this has definitely been one of my most popular bakes to do (i'm looking at you jamie...!) and it was claimed to be the best carrot cake someone had ever tasted! you can't ask much better than that, and it has been demolished in two days.

i'd really recommend this as something slightly different from your standard vanilla or chocolate sponges - it is so different from what people expect and i'm sure you could create a few converts!

have a good week everyone!

love,

nen

x