Carrots are so versatile! I love using carrots in desserts . Be it carrot cake, carrot halwa, carrot custard or even carrot kheer, it compliments them all. The summer heat is already beginning to weigh me down. Baking in a hot kitchen with two ovens is really not what I prefer doing these days . I bake late at night or wake up early to bake (YES I admit I'm quite obsessed with baking)
I bought a ton of carrots the other day at the local market and I used only a portion of it for cooking.I used the rest to make desserts. I made carrot halwa and moist carrot cake with caramel buttercream frosting. YUM!
Carrot halwa is my favourite Indian sweet. I find the commercially available ones a bit too rich and sweet so I decided to make some at home .
Carrots in cakes is an EXCELLENT idea.It makes the cake so moist yet light.You can even add pineapples or apples along with carrots to cakes. Makes a fantastic combination!
Recipe for carrot cake-
You will need-
2 cups of flour
1 cup of brown sugar
3/4 of a cup of caster sugar
4 eggs
1.5 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1.5 teaspoons of baking soda
one cup of yoghurt
four cups of finely grated carrots
half a cup of nuts (optional)
1 cup of vegetable oil
1/2 cup of butter
pinch of salt
pinch of ground nutmeg
Directions-Pre heat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius.
Cream together the oil,butter,eggs and sugar. Once the mixture gets fluffy,sift in the dry ingredients and fold it in. Add the carrots and yoghurt and fold in the mixture. Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for about 45 mins .
Caramel butter cream-
I've used the same recipe for butter cream as mentioned in the previous post and substituted some caramel sauce for honey(recipe for caramel sauce also posted earlier).
Carrot halwa-
You will need-
One kilogram of carrot ( finely grated)
One cup of sugar(you can add half a cup more if you prefer it very sweet)
Four cups of full fat milk
Three tablespoons of KHOVA( evaporated milk paste) (optional)
Three tablespoons of ghee(clarified butter)
Half a cup of cashew nuts
One teaspoon of ground cardamom
Directions-
Cook the carrots in the milk till all of the milk has evaporated.
Then add the sugar and keep stirring.
Add the ghee,(continue to stir)
Add the khova
Add the cardamom.
Roast the nuts in some ghee and add it to the halwa.
3/4 of a cup of caster sugar
4 eggs
1.5 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1.5 teaspoons of baking soda
one cup of yoghurt
four cups of finely grated carrots
half a cup of nuts (optional)
1 cup of vegetable oil
1/2 cup of butter
pinch of salt
pinch of ground nutmeg
Directions-Pre heat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius.
Cream together the oil,butter,eggs and sugar. Once the mixture gets fluffy,sift in the dry ingredients and fold it in. Add the carrots and yoghurt and fold in the mixture. Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for about 45 mins .
Caramel butter cream-
I've used the same recipe for butter cream as mentioned in the previous post and substituted some caramel sauce for honey(recipe for caramel sauce also posted earlier).
Carrot halwa-
You will need-
One kilogram of carrot ( finely grated)
One cup of sugar(you can add half a cup more if you prefer it very sweet)
Four cups of full fat milk
Three tablespoons of KHOVA( evaporated milk paste) (optional)
Three tablespoons of ghee(clarified butter)
Half a cup of cashew nuts
One teaspoon of ground cardamom
Directions-
Cook the carrots in the milk till all of the milk has evaporated.
Then add the sugar and keep stirring.
Add the ghee,(continue to stir)
Add the khova
Add the cardamom.
Roast the nuts in some ghee and add it to the halwa.
