CELEBRATE WORLD CAKE DAY – WITH VEGGIES!

Cake-aholics can have their cake and eat it on World Cake Day on Saturday, 26^th November! It is the perfect excuse to visit your favourite coffee shop, bake one of your family favourites or pop out and buy something decadent to enjoy for tea.

Historians trace the origins of cake back to the Ancient Greeks, Romans and Egyptians. These were the days long before the invention of baking powder so the cakes were a bit on the heavy side. The Greeks ate them with honey and nuts and it is thought these sticky, sweet cakes were the forerunners of the delicious baklava we know today.

The invention of various baking ingredients over the centuries has meant that cake lovers now have a huge variety to choose from – be it cheesecakes, decadent chocolate and red-velvet cakes or even a simple light, fluffy vanilla sponge.

From lamingtons to pineapple upside-down flans, banana bread to milk tarts and even chilly ice-cream cakes, there is something for everyone.

Indulging in cake with a vegetable as an essential ingredient is a wonderful way to ease a guilty conscience. All manner of veggies can be used apart from the hardy carrot in a carrot cake: think parsnips (Parsnip, Lemon and Walnut Cake), cabbage (Purple Cake made with Red Cabbage), beetroot (Chocolate Beetroot Cake) or rhubarb (Rhubarb Crumble Cake)…yes, rhubarb is a vegetable!

In celebration of World Cake Day, Thabiso Luthuli and Kerosha Ponen – from the kitchen at Big Easy Winebar and Grill Durban by Ernie Els – have devised and shared a delicious recipe for Carrot and Walnut Cake. This tasty treat is available on the new summer menu.

Big Easy Carrot and Walnut Cake

Ingredients

3 cups                     walnuts

1 ½ cup                   brown sugar

½ cup                       castor sugar

1 cup                        oil

4                                 eggs

¾                                 apple juice

1tsp                          vanilla essence

2 ½                             cups flour

2 tsp                         baking powder

½ tsp                        salt

1 ½ tsp                    cinnamon powder

2 cups                     grated carrots

Method:

Set oven at 160C. Prepare flat baking try by lining tray with grease proof paper.

Mix together castor sugar, brown sugar, oil, walnuts, egg, apple juice and vanilla essence in mixer.

Sieve all dry items and mix into the egg mixture, then add grated carrots.

Bake the mixture for approximately 20 min. This can be poured into two round cake tins or prepared as a Swiss-Roll-style cake as presented at Big Easy Winebar and Grill Durban by Ernie Els.

Cream cheese filling

400gr                       full-cream smooth cream cheese

200gr                       icing sugar

150gr                       butter

3tbl                           orange zest

Mix all the filling ingredients until you a have a smooth frosting, this can be spread in-between layers or rolled inside the Swiss Roll.

Garnish

½ cup                       chopped walnuts

1 carrot                  thinly sliced with peeler

Flour                        for dusting

Oil

Icing sugar

Sprinkle chopped nuts on top of cake. Dust grated carrots with flour, crisp fry in oil and place on kitchen towel to remove excess oil. Sprinkle with icing sugar and decorate cake.

To book, telephone 031 336 8166 or email bookings@bigeasydurban.co.za

Big Easy Wine Bar & Grill Durban by Ernie Els

12-14 Walnut Road, Durban