Miniature Carrot Cakes

Cake, cake and more cake...I have been swimming in cake batter the last couple of days! First was the bake-a-thon as I baked enough cakes to keep the birthday boy’s office happy, next I made a Red Velvet birthdaycake for Jon, and then last but not least, I made some miniature carrot cakes for afternoon tea at my Grandma’s with my Grandad, parents, and Aunty Lynne!

I thought doing miniature versions of a classic would give them a contemporary edge, and I also added a few extra chopped nuts and raisins to give the recipe a revival!

The best part though has to be the little carrots on top. Unfortunately I can’t take the credit for these, but I discovered recently that most of the supermarkets (at least Asda and Sainsburys) do their own little carrots perfect for decorating carrot cakes! Their ranges are really improving week on week!!!

If you’d like to give these cute little cakes a go for a tea party near you, I’d also recommend trying to get some miniature loaf cases (again many of the supermarkets stock them) but they would look equally cute as cupcakes.

Enjoy...

Red Velvet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

No matter how old you are you always deserve a birthday cake. For my Dad’s birthday last year I baked him a vanilla celebration cakewith butter cream, and last year I baked Jon a coffee and chocolate cake! Aren’t the men in my life lucky!

This year I thought I’d go super cheesy baking Jon a “Stevenage Boro” Cake...like I say...you’re never too old! To stick to the team’s red and white colour scheme, I thought what better than a red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. YUMMY!

I’m sure you’re all very well aware of what red velvet is, the name kind of gives it away. But I have to admit, despite all the pictures of red velvet cakes, cupcakes, cakepops and more that appear of every cooking blog across the globe, I still didn’t know what to expect when it came to texture or taste. I had never previously cooked with buttermilk so I had no idea how this would affect the cake.

The way I would describe a red velvet cake is super moist, and most definitely velvety. It has a light crumb, yet still seems to be extremely rich and dense all at the same time! The cream cheese frosting also really compliments the cake; I think it would be far too sweet with my normal vanilla buttercream, and it’s nice for a change! Even without my normal super-sweet icing, the cake was still a little too sweet for some of our friends and family – I however, loved it.