Every single book I read these passed two weeks - 'Gone Girl' by Gillian Flynn, 'Me before You' by Jojo Moyes and the 'Divergent' Trilogy by Veronica Roth - have left me feeling rather unsatisfied with life. I think if you've read any of these books, you'll understand what I mean when I say that they are all, in their own right, tragic love stories, and its left me feeling pretty hopeless about my prospects. To be fair to myself, I have been cooped up in my room for two weeks, so maybe all I need is to get out and socialise a bit. Cabin fever is a real thing.
"...sometimes life really sucks," she says. "But you know what I'm holding on for?"
I raise my eyebrows.
She raises hers, too, mimicking me.
"The moments that don't suck," she says. "The trick is to notice them when they come around.”
I raise my eyebrows.
She raises hers, too, mimicking me.
"The moments that don't suck," she says. "The trick is to notice them when they come around.”
-Allegiant by Veronica Roth
I could, also, just eat a slice of this super moist and delicious carrot cake, it definitely counts as one of those moments that won't 'suck'. A slice of carrot cake and a good book. Kidding. I think I've had enough reading to last me for a while now.
But, lets talk about this carrot cake. Seriously, this is the type of cake you can eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner, its that good. I made it for a friend who said he loved carrot cake, I told him mine could beat the best carrot cake he'd ever eaten. I may have built it up just a little. But he came back to me saying that it was so light and not stodgy like a carrot cake can so often be. Said it was one of the best he'd had. Also, as the frosting is made from smooth cottage cheese, its a lot lighter than if it had been made with cream cheese. (Don't get me wrong though, you can never go wrong with a good cream cheese frosting)
Carrot Cake with Lavender Cottage Cheese Icing
cake:
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs (room temperature)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 3/4 cups plain flour
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 100g chunky chopped walnuts
- 100g chunky chopped pecans
- 550g grated carrots
- 1/2 cup crushed pineapple
frosting:
- 500g smooth cottage cheese
- approximately 1 cup confectioners sugar
- 50g unsalted butter
- pure lavender extract to taste
how to:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius and butter and flour 2 round cake tins.
Combine the sugar, oil and eggs in bowl and mix until a pale yellow. Add in the vanilla and combine.
In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Then slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, mixing until incorperated. Once it is just combined, add the chopped nuts, carrot and pineapple and fold it until homogenous.
Divide the batter between the cake tins and bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. The cakes will be a rich golden brown colour. Turn the cakes out and allow to cool on a wire rack.
In the mean time, make the icing. Beat the butter and cottage cheese together until light, then sift in the confectioners sugar and lavender extract and combine. I put it in the fridge at this stage while the cakes cooled so it could set slightly. Assemble the cakes once cooled and voila.
