La Chatte Gitane (or The Gypsy Cat) was the name we chose for our cottage in France at the time. We chose it while on the road, moving house the first time round, from Ireland to France with 2 dogs and 7 cats in the car.
This blog began its insignificant life as a recipe book for friends and family who would ask me repeatedly for a recipe of this, that and the other.
Since then it has taken many different directions, like we did and like gypsies tend to do. Sometimes making a U-turn and revisiting familiar roads and taking a break when necessary.
You'll find recipes here, but also musings about the places we've called home, the gardens that we've established, not always successfully, the homes we've improved and the environments we've lived in. Currently, after yet another stint in Ireland, we're back in France @ Le Mas d'Ayen

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Carrot Cake

The first time I had carrot cake, must have been in 1995 in Killarney,  Ireland.   Hermans Continental Coffee Shop, a tiny place with about 4 tables and a counter full of baked goodies, located in the Innisfallen Shopping Center. 
Even though the baker, himself, was German, the women serving in the café were full Oirish colleens and it was a quirky kinda place, that we visited every trip to Killarney, after that first time.
I cannot remember, however, if I consciencely chose carrot cake or if I just pointed at what looked interesting at the time.
A good slice of moist, dense texture, with the right amount of  cinnamon, pecan nuts and the most beautiful orange specks of grated carrot.  It was nothing like the cakes I knew from my neck of the woods, that are usually dry, overly sweet and to my mind, uninspiring. 
The cake was in two layers, filled with cream cheese frosting, flavoured with lemon zest.  The frosting was also spread, in a rustic kind of way, over the top and sides.
While living in Ireland, there was no need for me to bake Carrot Cake, ever, because the numerous tea & coffee shops did all the work for me and what I liked most about these places, was that cakes and scones would be homemade and they all looked so rustically gorgeous.
Now, I am dreaming away to The Riverside Café in Sneem.  A lovely mug of strong tea, sugar bowls on the tables, also large jugs of the best milk with a help-yourself-attitude.

Okay, back to the here and now. 
Don't know what happened, but about a month or two ago I suddenly thought about Carrot Cake and I was going to make one

I didn't have to look long on t'internet to come to my favorite website for baking.  The trusted  The Joy of Baking website.  I have used it before for other baked treats and it is very, very good.
So here is the recipe for Carrot Cake , but as per usual I didn't follow it to the letter, I added grated apples that came from our small tree in the garden.  No, just no ! No pineapple !

For the lovely people in the choir I will translate it 'roughly' into dutch.

Worteltjes Cake   Nederlands recept

 



1 comment:

  1. Anonymous11:30 pm

    Eenvoudig en zoet. Ik denk dat een ander blog of vijf vrij snel, en ik zal zeker overwegen dit thema. Keep 'em coming!

    ReplyDelete

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