This delicious moist carrot cake, from the hummingbird bakery,  is made with walnuts and orange zest and is topped with light cream cheese frosting – it’s great for an indulgent dessert or as an adult birthday cake. At Wickedfood Cooking School when we make carrot cake in our baking classes we substitute pecan nuts for walnuts.

120g chopped walnuts (or pecan nuts see above)
450g carrots, grated
3 large eggs
125ml buttermilk
1tsp vanilla extract
450g caster sugar
250ml vegetable oil
1tbsp orange zest
300g plain flour
1tsp baking soda
2tsp baking powder
1tsp salt
1tsp ground cinnamon

For the cream cheese frosting:

120g unsalted butter, softened

120g cream cheese, softened

400g icing sugar

Serves: 12

For more recipes by Hummingbird Bakery, click here

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

(Adapted from Bourke Street Bakery’s Cookbook, Picture from almostbourdain.blogspot)

This Carrot Cake is well worth worth the effort. The list of ingredients might be long, but they are all readily available in the supermarket and many of them should also be everyday items in a well stocked pantry.  At Wickedfood Cooking School we make a fairly similar carrot cake in our baking class.  As with all baking, it is important that you follow the recipe exactly, otherwise there is a strong possibility that the carrot cake will flop.

Bourke Street Bakery says – “It’s necessary to work quickly to make this carrot cake recipe succeed. Everything is whipped to incorporate a lot of air and the dry ingredients are quickly folded through at the end. The whipped egg whites result in a fantastic crisp meringue-like top on the cake. We have a number of mixers. So we can have everything mixing at one time, but for a home kitchen you will get the best results working in the order listed within the carrot cake recipe.”

70 g walnuts
150 g self-raising flour
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
55 ml (about 2) egg whites
1/4 cup sugar for egg whites
1 egg
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup sugar for egg yolks
2/3 cup extra light olive oil
125 g carrots, peeled and grated

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1T icing (confectioners’) sugar, plus extra, for dusting
1T butter, softened
145 g cream cheese
2T pouring (whipping) cream

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C . Grease an 18 cm round cake tin and line the base and side with baking paper – the paper should protrude about 3cm above the tin.
2. Place the walnuts on a baking tray and toast in the preheated oven for 4-5 minutes, or until lightly roasted (or in a dry frying pan). Cool and coarsely chop.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, spices and salt into a bowl. Repeat to ensure they are evenly mixed, and well aired.
4. Whisk the  egg whites in a very clean bowl on high speed until soft peaks start to form. Slowly pour in the sugar for the egg whites, while the motor is still running, being careful not to overmix – the meringue should reach soft peak stage.
5. Put the 1 egg and 1 egg yolk in a bowl together with the 3/4 cup of sugar for the egg yolks. Mix on high speed for 3-4 minutes, or until the mixture doubles in volume and is quite airy. With the motor still running, slowly pour in the oil in a thin stream being careful that it doesn’t split or deflate too much.
6. With a spatula, or metal spoon, gently fold in the flour mixture until combined. Fold in the carrots and walnuts. Quickly and lightly fold in the meringue (beaten egg whites) – do not fold it through completely, you should still be able to see streaks of meringue through the mix.
7. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into centre of the cake comes out clean. You may need to drop the oven temperature to 180°C  after the first 30 minutes if the top is browning too quickly).
8. Meanwhile, make the cream cheese frosting. Cream the icing sugar and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until pale and smooth. Add the cream cheese in small amounts, allowing it to be completely incorporated before adding the rest. Scrape down the sides during the process to ensure even mixing. Add the cream and mix until smooth, being careful not to overmix at this stage or the cream may curdle and separate, you may need to add a little more cream – the frosting needs to be of a spreadable consistency but not at all runny.
9. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for about 30 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Using a serrated knife, slice horizontally through the centre of the cake to form two even-sized layers and fill with cream cheese frosting.
11. Dust the top of the cake with icing sugar to serve.

See almostbourdain.blogspot for more pictures on how to make the cake.

Click here for a Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe from the book.

Wickedfood Cooking School, Sunninghill – – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. Classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and teambuilding cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

Anyone watching television, or who has been fortunate enough to visit Australia will realize that they have a vibrant and exciting food industry.  One of the rising stars is  Bourke Street Bakery, situated in the hip foodie enclave of Sydney’s Surry Hills, selling artisanal baked goods of the highest order. The bakery’s long queue of customers waiting for their daily fix is testament to the popularity of their utterly delicious wares – from rustic breads such as their famous spelt sourdough to the flaky pork and fennel sausage rolls and the addictive sweet pastries -  ginger brulee and pistachio tart.

Fortunately for those of us who are not able to visit the bakery, we can now recreate many of their delicious offerings from the inspiring cookbook of the same name.  It is the ultimate baking companion with clear and concise instructions aimed at the novice home baker while remaining an inspirational and technical reference for professionals. Passionate owner-bakers Paul Allam and David McGuinness share their secrets for more than 90 of their exceptional creations. Complementing the mouthwatering recipes is a wide selection of evocative photographs depicting the various recipes as well as capturing the sole of the establishment.

So who are the people behind this successful bakery?  Paul Allam and David McGuinness are both well-travelled chefs with a passion for good food and artisan baked goods. India was David’s inspiration for the bakery’s famous ginger brulee and pistachio tart. They started Bourke Street Bakery in 2004 and opened A second shop, Central Baking Depot, in Sydney’s CBD in 2008.

Click on the links below for two delicious recipes inspired by book:

Carrot cake

Flourless Chocolate Cake Recipe

Interested in buying this book? visit - Red Pepper Books – The South African online bookshop, they will be able to offer you great prices on any book you are looking for.

Wickedfood Cooking School, Sunninghill – (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studios. Classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – team building cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and teambuilding cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

Wickedfood Cooking School, SUNNINGHILL

Information & bookings (011) 234-3252 sunninghill@wickedfood.co.za

Hi all,

This sudden cold snap has certainly reminded us that winter is still here, and in winter we should be eating hearty warming stews and roasts. Winter is also a time for venison and in celebration of this, on  Sunday 22 August, we’ll be running a very special event – working with venison, in conjunction with Slow Food. It is a radically discounted event, only R250pp, and we only have a few spaces still available, so see below, or contact the school for more details.

Find us on Facebook and Twitter – just search for Wickedfood and you will find us. We update the blog on a daily basis and publish it through Facebook and Twitter.

Wickedfood Cooking School news

Cooking class programmes are up on the internet, click the relevant month for the August and September programme .

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes with a minimum of 8 participants and a maximum of 12 as this gives everyone hands-on experience and keeps the cooking class small enough for maximum learning. These cooking classes are conducted by our senior instructors who have extensive experience in the food industry and share a variety of additional cooking tips throughout the  class.

• Sunday 15 August at 4pm – Thai master class (R390pp). A Thai cooking class with classic Thai flavours and a strong leaning towards seafood. Dishes include fried seafood pancake, chilli and tamarind soup, deep-fried fish, banana flower salad with prawns, crispy noodles and sweet sticky rice.
• Monday 16 August at 6pm – 30 minute meals (R380pp). Quick and easy meals for two. Dishes include vegetarian stir-fry, red chicken curry, pepper steak, sun-dried tomato pesto, fish with almonds, and pizza.
• Sunday 22 August at 5.30pm – Working with venison (R250pp), in conjunction with Slow Food. This is a gourmet, 5 course dinner, looking at 4 very different venison preparations, and pairing them with some very unique wines.
• Monday 23 August at 6pm – Jamie’s Ministry of Food – Easy curries, salads and soups (R370pp). This Jamie Oliver cooking class is inspired by Jamie’s book Ministry of Food, at Wickedfood Cooking School we regard it as his best. It is a perfect book for any beginner. We take six recipes from the book and re-interpret them, with plenty of tips along the way. Learning the secrets to successful  easy cooking, including spicy Moroccan stewed fish with couscous, chicken and leek stroganoff, broccoli and pesto tagliatelle, classic tomato spaghetti, macaroni cauliflower cheese bake and banana tarte tatin, with a wicked twist.
• Sunday 29 August at 4pm – Classic French cooking (R390pp). French cooking class, an introduction to French cuisine with some classic seafood dishes including quiche Lorraine, bouillabaisse, sole meunière, salad niçoise and flourless chocolate cake.

Please contact the school should you wish to make a booking:

Looking for info on food?

If you have any food-related questions, or a dish that you just can’t get right or even a certain recipe that you are looking for, but just can’t seem to find, then contact us and we will do our best to answer it as soon as possible. Click Here for more information. Hope to hear from you soon.

On food

Lemons don’t just perk up meals and desserts with their citrus vim and vigour, they can also help your cookery. Adding a few drops of lemon juice to egg whites before whisking them for meringues helps stabilise the proteins and prevents the whites turning into clumps of cotton-woolly foam, should you get overzealous with the electric beaters.

Cookbook of the week

Bourke Street Bakery

One of the rising stars of Australia’s baking scene is Bourke Street Bakery, situated in the hip foodie enclave of Sydney’s Surry Hills, selling artisanal baked goods of the highest order.  Fortunately for those of us who are not able to visit the bakery, we can now recreate many of their delicious offerings from the inspiring cookbook of the same name. … Click Here for more.

Click Here to see Wickedfood Cooking School’s top 10 food-related books for 2009.

Food quote of the week

“Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.” – Harriet Van Horne.

Recipe of the week:

Carrot cake
Carrot cake is one of the all time favourites, found on nearly every coffeehouse menu.  Apart from being full of flavour, carrot cake also has a relatively long shelf life. … Click Here for the recipe.

The Wickedfood Team

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built cooking studio. Classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our classes are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.