Good Sunday afternoon dear readers! I hope you’ve had a great weekend so far! (: I’m about to head to the airport to embark on my adventure to Europe! But before I do, I wanted to share a Sweet High Tea organised by Miss D, at her place, a few weeks ago! We each had to bring a thing or two to share. Oh boy were there heaps of delicious yummies, bother sweet and savoury!
Here’s a quick glimpse of the spread we had!
First up : Daisy’s Country Women’s scones and Julie’s Momofuku Milk Bar bagel bombs! Before I go into details, how cute is the bag? It keeps the yummies warm too! So need to get one. hehe Anyway, back to the food! The scones were freshly baked and so so good with cream and homemade strawberry and fig jam! hehe Julie’s bagel bombs were TO DIE FOR. Omgness. Biting into the bagel bomb was just heavenly. It’s filled with cream cheese, bacon (YES BACON) and spring onion.
How good does that look? I wanted more! hehe
Next up : Smoked salmon sandwiches with cream cheese and capers. These were made by Ling and the smoked salmon were so so good and fresh! She also made some caramel slice! A good match of savoury and sweet! hehe
Last of the savoury : My broccoli and cheese muffins! I haven’t made this for ages and I’m so glad there was an occasion to make them! Mums who want their children to have veggies should make these! Cheesy goodness and you can barely taste the broccoli! hehe So glad the girls liked them too! hehe
Then came the sweets! hehe My eyes were fixated on these the moment it came through the door! Liz made my two favourite kuehs : kueh dadar and kueh sarlat! Kueh dadar is a thin pandan crepe that is filled with a mixture of gula meleka and coconut! If I haven’t already said this, I am OBSESSED with gula melaka! haha Love it more than normal sugar. hehe If I could flavour everything with it, I would! Kueh sarlat consists of two layers : the bottom is glutinous rice, and the top is a thick pandan custard! It was perfect! I wanted to steal the whole plate back! hehe
In true Sweet Queen fashion, Daisy made something sweet of course! hehe Peanut butter cupcakes with a surprise mini Reese’s peanut butter cup at the bottom! hehe Nothing could be better than the combination of chocolate and peanut butter. It was delish! hehe
Michele came with two beautiful sweets : a guinness ginger bread that’s so so moist and soft! hehe The ginger taste was subtle and just went perfectly with a cuppa tea! hehe
She also made a pretty eton mess cake! hehe It’s topped with strawberries and merigue nests and of course, we had it with a dollop (or two) of double cream. Mmmmmm (: That’s the sound we were all making when we had it. haha
Last but not least, it’s my humble purple carrot cake! hehe I love love love carrot cake but I probably haven’t made one in almost close to 5 years now. haha I have to say I’m really brave by baking cakes that I’ve not done in a while. I was soooo relieved when it was moist and crumbly. Instead of the usual orange carrots, I decided to give it a small twist by using purple carrots! hehe The colour turned out purplish blue! To top it, I decided to use the Hummingbird Bakery’s cream cheese icing. It’s one of the best ones I’ve had! Creamy and not too heavy. hehe I have to say I was really happy with it!
So I just want to share the recipe with you! Do give it a try if you love carrot cake like I do! (I know it seems I love everything, but I really do. haha)
Purple Carrot Cake (adapted from The Cake Mistress)
2-3 large purple carrots, finely grated
I cup packed brown sugar
1 cup olive oil
3 large eggs
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp bicarb soda
2 cups self-raising flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, extra to garnish
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
Cream Cheese Frosting (From the Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook)
300g icing sugar
125g cream cheese
50g unsalted butter, soften
Steps :
1) Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
2) Beat brown sugar and olive oil until it gets to a thicker consistency. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until well combined.
3) Add salt, bicarb soda, carrots, flour, walnuts, raisins and spices. Mix it on slow speed until everything is well combined.
4) Put batter into a well greased baking tray (I used a 12-square loaf tin) and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until its lightly golden and the toothpick comes out clean after inserting it into the middle.
5) For the frosting : Beat the icing sugar and butter in a mixing bowl until well combined. Add the cream cheese in one go and beat until completely incorporated. Turn the mixer up to medium high, and beat until it’s light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Do not over beat as it will turn runny. Pipe onto the cakes (when they are cooled) and top with a small piece of walnut.
ENJOY! (:
Hope you’ll give this a try and do let me know what you think when you do! hehe Have a good week ahead everyone! Just letting you know I will be away for the next 3 weeks as I will be in the UK! But I will come back with lots of good food and pictures to share, I promise! So till then, remember to always cook and bake with love! xx