Carrot and Chocolate Cupcake

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups brown sugar
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1 e 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 cups carrots, finely grated
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil

Ganache:
300g semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
150g heavy cream
2 tbsp honey

Directions:

Cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350°.
Combine carrots, sugar, oil, and eggs in a large bowl. Combine sifted flour, cocoa, soda, baking powder and salt, stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture to carrot mixture; stir until smooth.
Spoon batter into 12 cupcakes cups lined with paper liners. Bake at 350° for 22 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack, and remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.

Ganache:
Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream and honey in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir with a whisk until smooth. Decorate the cupcakes.

Rolled Beef – Not Rolled

Ingredients:

1 kg of beef cubs (I used topside, but you can use the one that you prefer)
250g of bacon cubs
1 big quartered onion
1 medium green pepper, in cubs
1 big carrot, in cubs
1 red chili, chopped
1 can of tomato paste (340g)
3 cans (the tomato paste one) of water
1 tbsp salt
1 pinch black pepper

Directions:

Put all the ingredients into a pressure cooker, and cook on medium heat for 45 minutes, or until beed is tender.

Carrot Cupcake with Chocolate Frosting
(20 muffins)

Ingredients:

Cupcake:

125g (1 – 1/2) chopped carrots
130g (1 cup) all purpose flour
160g (1 cup) sugar
2 eggs
100ml vegetable oil
1/2 tbsp baking powder
one small pinch of salt

Frosting:

2 tbsp sweetened cocoa powder
5 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup of milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/355ºF. Grease and flour a 30cm round pan. Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend for a couple of minutes until you get a creamy mixture. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

For the icing: mix all the ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over high heat until it boils. Poure it over the cake when is still hot.

Carrot Cake with Chocolate Frosting
(1/2 recipe)

Ingredients:

Cake:

125g (1 – 1/2) chopped carrots
130g (1 cup) all purpose flour
160g (1 cup) sugar
2 eggs
100ml vegetable oil
1/2 tbsp baking powder
one small pinch of salt

Frosting:

2 tbsp sweetened cocoa powder
5 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp butter
1/2 cup of milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/355ºF. Grease and flour a 30cm round pan. Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend for a couple of minutes until you get a creamy mixture. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

For the icing: mix all the ingredients in a small saucepan and cook over high heat until it boils. Poure it over the cake when is still hot.

Carrot Cake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

For the cake:

1 cup canola, corn, or vegetable oil; more for the pans
2 cups (9 oz.) unbleached all-purpose flour; more for the pans
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1-3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
3/4 tsp. ground ginger
3/4 tsp. table salt
4 large eggs
2-1/2 cups (8-3/4 oz.) lightly packed, finely grated carrots
2 cups packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1-1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. baking powder

For the frosting:

1 lb. cream cheese, softened
12 oz. (1-1/2 cups) unsalted butter, softened
1 lb. (4 cups) confectioners’ sugar
4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3/4 tsp. table salt

Make the cake:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil and flour the sides of two 9×2-inch round cake pans, tapping out any excess flour. Line the bottoms of the pans with parchment.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the oil, eggs, carrots, brown sugar, walnuts, raisins, and vanilla on medium speed until well blended, about 1 minute. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just blended, about 30 seconds. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.

Bake until the tops of the cakes spring back when lightly pressed and a cake tester inserted into the centers comes out clean, 28 to 30 minutes.

Let cool in the pans on a rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the inside edge of the pans to loosen the cakes, invert them onto the rack, remove the pans, and carefully peel away the parchment. Set the cakes aside to cool completely before frosting.
Make the frosting

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter with the mixer on medium speed until very smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat on medium high until blended and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Cover the frosting and set aside at room temperature until the layers are completely cool.

Assemble the cake:

Carefully set one cake upside down on a large, flat serving plate. Using a metal spatula, evenly spread about 1-1/2 cups of the frosting over the top of the cake. Top with the remaining cake layer, upside down. Spread a thin layer (about 1/3 cup) of frosting over the entire cake to seal in any crumbs and fill in any gaps between layers. Refrigerate until the frosting is cold and firm, about 20 minutes. Spread the entire cake with the remaining frosting.

Refrigerate the cake for at least 4 hours or up to 2 days. The cake is best served slightly chilled or at room temperature.