Upside Down Pecan Carrot Cake Pampered Chef Recipe

This is a new recipe which came with the ‘baby’ Rockcrok.  I have eaten it once before but not actually made it – until last night’s Pampered Chef party.  Well, I still didn’t actually make it – the guests did! – but I helped out here and there and saw just how easy it was.  The thing which impressed me the most was how easily it dropped out of the Rockcrok when I turned it out.  It just came straight out, absolutely no encouragement needed!!  Plus it tasted absolutely fab, not at all rubbery like some microwave cakes can be.  LOVED it!  Make it – you won’t regret it.

Upside Down Pecan Carrot Cake. Beautiful!

Ingredients

50g Butter
175g dark soft brown sugar
2 tbsp water
100g pecan halves
200g trimmed and peeled carrots
150g self raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground mixed spice
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
2 eggs
150ml sunflower oil

Method

1. Add butter, 50g of the sugar and water to Rockcrok Casserole (1.9l).
2. Put onto the hob on medium heat for 3-5mins or until sugar is dissolved and mixture begins to bubble, stirring
continuously using Small Mix ‘N Scraper. Remove from heat and cool for 2 minutes.
3. Starting on the outside edge of the Casserole, carefully place about 85g of the pecans upside down, close together in a circular pattern, in brown sugar mixture. Set aside.
4. Coarsely chop remaining pecans in Food Chopper. Set aside.
5. Peel carrots using Vegetable Peeler and trim ends off using Paring Knife. Grate carrots using Adjustable Microplane Coarse Grater into a Classic Batter Bowl.
6. Zest orange using Microplane Zester directly into Batter Bowl.
7. Using Small Adjustable Measuring Spoon add baking powder, cinnamon, mixed spice to the Batter Bowl. Add remaining sugar, flour, and chopped pecans to the bowl and stir using Bamboo Spoon.
8. In Small Batter Bowl, whisk eggs and oil together using Stainless Whisk. Pour egg mixture into the carrot mixture, mix until well combined using Small Mix N Scraper. Spoon mixture carefully into Rockcrok and level surface.
9. Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH for 7-9 minutes or until a wooden cocktail stick/ cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the sponge. The top will look quite moist and side shrunken away slightly. Remove cake from microwave to Stackable Cooling Rack. Let it stand, covered for 5 minutes, if you can resist the smell. Carefully invert the cake onto a serving plate. Serve warm or cold.

The Pampered Chef ® Pesto Pinwheels Recipe

This is a super quick recipe for a party or nibbles.  Very, very tasty too!

Pesto Pinwheels ready for eating! YUM!!

Ingredients

Sunflower oil, for greasing
1 packet (145 g) pizza base mix
About 100 ml warm (hand hot) water
40 g Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1 clove garlic
15 g fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons sun-dried tomato pesto (see Chef’s Corner)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200ºC/fan 180ºC/Gas 6.
2. Lightly brush Medium Bar Pan with sunflower oil; set aside.
3. Place pizza base mix in Classic Batter Bowl. Measure warm water in Mini Measure-All® Cup; add enough water to pizza base mix, mixing to form a soft dough. Knead dough on lightly floured surface 5 minutes or until smooth.
4. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface using outer tube of Mini Measure-All® Cup to form 30 x 17 cm rectangle. Leave to rise 15 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, finely grate cheese into clean batter bowl using Microplane® Adjustable Fine Grater. Press garlic using Garlic Press into batter bowl and mix gently into cheese using Small Mix ‘N Scraper®.
6. Roll basil leaves up together and cut into fine strips using Colour Coated Santoku Knife on Bar Board.
7. Spread pesto evenly over bread dough using back of Small Mix ‘N Scraper®. Sprinkle basil leaves and cheese mixture evenly over pesto.
8. Starting from a long side, carefully roll up dough rectangle to form a tight roll. Cut roll in half widthways. Cut each dough half widthways into 10 even sized slices using Santoku Knife on Bar Board. Transfer pinwheels onto Medium Bar Pan, spacing apart evenly and neaten into rounds if necessary.

Pesto Pinwheels ready for baking

Bake 15 – 17 minutes or until pale golden brown. Transfer pinwheels to a serving plate. Serve warm.
Yield: Makes 20

Per serving: Nutrition information per pinwheel: Energy 236kJ/56kcal. Protein 2.2g, Carbohydrate 7.1g, Sugars 0.5g, Fat 2.3g, Saturated fat 0.7g, Fibre 0.3g, Salt 0.2g

Cook’s Tip: Substitute the red pesto with green pesto, if desired.
These appetisers are best served warm and eaten on the day made.

© 2015 The Pampered Chef used under license.

Cook’s Tip: Substitute the red pesto with green pesto, if desired.
These appetisers are best served warm and eaten on the day made.

© 2015 The Pampered Chef used under license.

Upside Down Pecan Carrot Cake

This amazing cake is so delicious and moist and yet is cooked in a Microwave??!!  Now, before you back away from the recipe shaking your head in horror – please, please give it a go.  It just doesn’t taste at all like its been cooked in the microwave.  Honestly!

The main product used for this is a brand new one which is coming out in March (2015!) and is going to be fondly called the “baby Rockcrok” (or officially the 1.9ltr Rockcrok Casserole).  It may be that the Rockcrok actually helps in making this taste like it wasn’t cooked in a microwave – I haven’t tried it in anything else to compare it.  If, however, you try it out and don’t have (yet!) a Rockcrok please do let me know how it goes.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

50g butter
175g dark soft brown sugar, divided
2 tablespoons water
100g pecan halves, divided
200g trimmed and peeled carrots (prepared weight)
150g self-raising flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon mixed spice
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
2 eggs
150ml sunflower oil

Method

• Melt butter, 50g of the sugar and water in baby Rockcrok (1.9lt) on hob over medium heat 3-5 minutes or until sugar is dissolved and mixture begins to bubble, stirring continuously.  Remover Casserole from heat.  Cool for 2 minutes.
• Starting on the outside edge of the casserole, carefully place about 85g of the pecans upside down, close together in a circular patter, in brown sugar mixture.  Set aside.  Coarsely chop remaining pecans using Food Chopper; set aside.
• Grate carrots using Microplane Adjustable Coarse Grater into Classic Batter Bowl.  Add remaining sugar, flour baking powder, cinnamon, mixed spice, orange zest (easiest tool for this is the Microplane Zester) and chopped pecans to the grated carrot.
• In Small Batter Bowl, whisk eggs and oil together using Stainless Whisk.  Pour egg mixture into the carrot mixture; mix until well combined using Small Mix ‘N Scraper.  Spoon mixture into Casserole and level surface.
• Microwave, uncovered, on HIGH 7-9 minutes or until cake tester or wooden cocktail stick comes out clean when inserted into centre of sponge (the top will look quite moist and sides shrunken slightly away).  Remove cake from microwave to Stackable Cooling Rack.  Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.  Carefully invert cake onto serving plate.  Serve warm (with or without cream!) or cold.

Microwave cooking times are tested using 900w microwave oven.  Please adjust according to suit your microwave oven.

 

 

Jamie Oliver’s Spotted Blackberry Sponge

I made this yesterday as a pudding and served it hot with cream and/or ice cream.  Today we ate the (meagre!) leftovers cold.  It is really yummy cold but utterly fabulous hot!  And SO easy.  Go, pick some blackberries and make it, now!!!

125g (4½oz) unsalted butter, cubed and softened
125g (4½oz) caster sugar
3 large free-range eggs, at room temperature
125g (4½oz) self-raising flour
A splash of semi-skimmed milk
350g (12oz)  blackberries
Cream or Ice cream, to serve

Preheat oven to fan 170C/ 190°C/gas 5.

If not using Pampered Chef Cake Tin…Grease a 20cm (8in) springform tin with butter, line the base with a circle of greaseproof paper and grease this too. I actually christened my new Pampered Chef Cake Tin with this recipe and didn’t do ANYTHING to the tin!  It came out perfectly (as you can see in the photo below)!  Even I was amazed!

Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until creamy – you can do this in a machine if you like.

Add the eggs one by one, waiting until the last is completely beaten in before adding the next. If the batter curdles, add 1tsp of flour to bring it back together.

Sift the flour into the bowl and fold in. Add a splash of milk (no more than 50ml/2fl oz) to loosen the mix.

Spoon the batter into the tin and smooth out.

Tip the blackberries into a clean bowl and sift a couple of pinches of flour over the top. Toss the fruit in the flour, then scatter over the uncooked cake.  The recipe is quite generous with blackberries so my ‘scattering’ actually took up the whole layer

Bake for 25-30 minutes in the wider, darker (which cooks quicker) PC Cake Tin or 35-40 mins in the 20cm greased tin, or until golden on top and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then carefully release and cool completely on a wire rack. Serve with cream or ice cream or maybe even custard!!
I have adapted the recipe from here:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2407004/Cook-Jamie-Theres-glut-juicy-berries–pick-theyre-free.html