Ginger Carrot Tea Cake with Orange Glaze

I miss traveling. Since the Covid pandemic started last year, I've daydreamed about all the places I will visit once things get better. Top on my list is a return to the United Kingdom. My last trip there was in 1992. 

Mom and I have spent the past year streaming a variety of British television programs like Great British Baking Show, Land Girls, Midsomer Murders, Shakespeare and Hathaway, Call the Midwife, Inspector Lewis, Death in Paradise, and Father Brown. (We're also fans of Australian shows My Life if Murder, 800 Words, and Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.) Add to that numerous PBS Masterpiece shows, such as the current All Creatures Great and Small and Miss Scarlett and the Duke, and it’s easy to understand how we’ve become proper anglophiles in this house.

I find myself drinking a lot more tea. Maybe because anytime a crisis happens in these programs, someone always says, “I’ll put the kettle on.” A pandemic is a crisis, right? 

I’ve always enjoyed the occasional cuppa, but now it’s an almost daily ritual. However, my tea time is a cup in the evening after dinner, with just a random cup in the late afternoon. 

Tea cuisine is also a favorite of mine. I love scones loaded with strawberry jam and clotted cream, buttery shortbread cookies, and crisp cucumber or watercress sandwiches. 

However, tea cakes are my number one selection. Also known as loaf cakes, these sweet treats are just the right size for my small household, and they aren’t loaded with frosting. In the past, I’ve posted recipes for Walnut Apricot Tea Bread, Honey Spice Loaf, and Orange Marmalade Teacake. 

This recipe for Ginger Carrot Tea Cake is now my favorite. Moist and flavorful, with a hint of ginger and the brightness of orange—perfect!  You’ll notice I’ve listed the measurements for the ingredients by weight first, then volume. Paul Hollywood and Mary Barry have made me a food scale convert. Trust me, using a scale is soooo easy, more accurate, and with less clean-up! 

I’ve also posted in the past instructions on how to make a proper pot of tea. You’ll find them here.

Are you a tea fan? What kind do you like most? And are you streaming shows from across the pond? I’d love to hear about your favorites so I can get some new ideas for my next binge-watching venture.

Cheers!

 

Yield: 1 9 x 5-inch loaf

Author: Linda Ditch

Ginger Carrot Tea Cake with Orange Glaze

A flavorful tea cake, with just a hint of warm ginger and a bright orange glaze.

Ingredients

• For the cake:
• 225 grams (1 3/4 cups) all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 225 grams (1 cup packed) light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 medium carrots, grated (165 grams/1 1/2 cups packed)
• For the glaze:
• Zest and juice from 1 medium orange
• 100 grams (1 cup) confectioners’ sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and eggs by hand for two minutes until light an and silky. Add the oil, cinnamon, ginger and salt, and whisk until smooth and combined. Add the dry ingredients and combine together with a rubber spatula until smooth. Fold in the grated carrots.
4. Pour the now thick batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top. Bang the pan on the countertop a couple of times to allow any air bubbles to rise to the surface. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the cake is golden and a tester comes out clean.
5. Remove the loaf pan from the oven and set it on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Then remove the cake from the pan onto the rack and allow it to cool completely.
6. To make the glaze, place the confectioners’ sugar and orange zest into a small bowl. Wisk in the orange juice a bit at a time until the glaze ins pourable but still thick. Place the cooling rack on top of a piece of waxed paper or foil. Pour the glaze over the top of the cake, allowing it to ooze down the sides. All the glaze to set for a few minutes before slicing the cake.
7. Store cake wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature.

Created using The Recipes Generator

Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Comfort…warmth…memories. 

All these come to mind with a whiff of cinnamon.

For many years, I have sprinkled a little cinnamon on my coffee grounds to flavor my morning cup. Even in the summer, I will make cinnamon coffee to wrap myself in this aroma that inspires images of crisp autumn air, brilliant blue sky, colorful leaves, pumpkin pie, and Christmas cheer. As the seasons change, the more cinnamon coffee starts my day.

Ever since The Picky Eater passed away last year, I drink cinnamon coffee almost every day.

 

I often wondered why I find this spice so comforting. Then I read The Cake Therapist by Judith Fertig. The main character, pastry chef Claire “Neely” O’Neil, can read people’s feelings through flavors. Then she customizes a delicious confection in the flavor to fit the person. In the book, her character explained:

 “When I lived in New York and went to Chinatown, I learned that these flavors and their meanings were actually a foundation of ancient Chinese medicine.

           

Salty translated to fear and the frantic energy that tries to compensate for it or hide it.

            

Sweet was the first flavor we recognized from our mother’s milk, and to which we turned when we were worried and unsure or depressed.

            

Sour usually meant anger and frustration.

            

Bitter signified matters of the heart, from simply feeling unloved to the most overwhelming loss of a great love. Most spices, along with coffee and chocolate, had some bitterness in their flavor profile. Even sugar, when it cooked too long, turned bitter. But to me, spice was for grief, because it lingered longest.”

In the book, Neely associates cinnamon with remembering.

Perhaps my longing for cinnamon makes sense.

During one scene in the book, the characters enjoyed a sour cream coffee cake full of cinnamon, and I knew I had to make one myself. This recipe is inspired by one I found from Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa. I like how she baked it in a tube pan instead of a bundt or cake pan. However, I wanted more cinnamon flavor than I found in her recipe. And I didn’t have sour cream on hand, but yogurt worked just as well.

This coffee cake is moist, flavorful, and delicious. I shared it with some of my neighbors, and they

agreed.

I see myself making it often in the future.

Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Serves 8 to 10

For streusel:

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

1/2 cup chopped pecans

For cake:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/4 cups plan whole-milk yogurt

For glaze:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan. Set aside.

To make the streusel: Place all of the ingredients except the pecans into a bowl. Using your fingers, a pastry cutter, or two knives, break up the butter bits into the rest of the ingredients until crumbly. Stir in the pecans. Set in the refrigerator until needed.

To make the cake: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, kosher salt and cinnamon until well combined. Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, until blended. Mix in the vanilla and the yogurt. Turn the mixer speed to low and slowly add the dry ingredients, and blend until just combined. Scrape the side and bottom with a spatula to make sure all of the ingredients are blended.

Remove the streusel from the refrigerator. Spoon half of the cake batter into the prepared tube pan and smooth into an even layer. Sprinkle in half of the streusel mixture, and then spoon the remaining cake batter into the pan. Sprinkle the remaining streusel mixture over the top. Place in the oven and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes.

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 30 minutes. To make the glaze: Whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth. The mixture should be slightly runny.

Remove the cake from the plan onto a serving dish or cake stand. Drizzle the glaze over the top.   

A Cup of Tea and a Romantic Tale

In the past, I've written many times about how The Picky Eater and I connected on Match.com and met for our first date in a grocery store parking lot. But I've never told you about the other man that was a part of that first evening. So, sit back with a cup of your favorite tea, coffee, or hot chocolate and let me tell you about our dinner with the other man…and how magic movie moments can happen in real life.

By the way, I’ll give you tips on making the perfect pot of tea at the end of this post.

It was Thursday, November 11, 2010—Veterans Day. After spending the day at the Montessori preschool where I taught…and spending a few moments after work in the teacher’s bathroom fixing my hair, touching up my make-up, and changing clothes…I headed to the Dillons Supermarket in North Topeka to meet Michael. We had talked on the phone for hours the previous three nights, but now it was time to meet face-to-face. Needless to say, I was nervous.

I first noticed Michael’s dancing blue eyes when we met. And he gave great hugs!

I followed him in my car to the Prairie Band Casino and Resort for dinner. That may seem like a strange place to go on a first date, but I was excited. I had heard great things about the food (always a plus with me!) and was looking forward to checking it out. Plus, I didn't mind trying my luck on a slot machine or two.

After we arrived, we headed for the Longhouse Buffet. Since veterans could eat free that day, the line was long. As we neared the front, the man ahead of us turned and said to Michael, “I’m all by myself. Would you two like to share a table with me?”

Now, I’m thinking since this was our first date, Michael would turn him down. So you can imagine my surprise when he said, “Okay!”

The man’s name was Floyd. I don’t remember too much about him. He was a veteran of the Marines and very friendly—and talkative. Most of the dinner was spent listening to him talk about his troubles with his stepson.

We shared a booth—Floyd on one side and Michael and I on the other. At one point, Michael excused himself to go to the bathroom. When he came back and sat down, I put my hand on his arm.

It was magic! Electric! Michael looked into my eyes, and it was one of those moments you see in the movies but never think really happened in real life. He put his hand on mine. My heart was racing, and I’m sure my face turned bright red. It was overwhelming.

I moved my hand to my lap, and everything returned to normal.

Later that evening, Michael and I were talking in his car. He had his arm around me, my head was on his strong, comfortable shoulder, and a Kenny G Christmas CD was planning in the background. He said, “I could see myself married to someone like you.”

Three days later, on our second date, Michael told me he loved me and, again, he could see being married to me. What did I say? I pointed at him and said, “Don’t you dare propose to me! You hardly know anything about me yet.”

His response was, “I know what I feel.”

I said, “But we need to get to know each other better. Besides, it’s the holiday season when everything is sparkly and romantic. Let’s see how we feel in the middle of January when it’s cold and

depressing.”

Then I added, “I tell you what, if you still feel this way in the middle of January, and I feel the same way, then I’ll marry you on Christmas Eve 2011.”

And that’s just what I did.

One evening, sometime after we were married, I asked Michael if there was a moment when he knew he was in love with me. He answered, “When you put your hand on my arm at that first dinner with Floyd.”

I guess he felt the magic, too.

Remembering our dinner with Floyd always brought us both a smile and a laugh. My sister-in-law thinks Floyd was an angel sent to make sure Michael and I fell in love.

Today, four years later, I’m spending the day with my memories of how The Picky Eater and I joined our lives together. He always made a big celebration of our first-date anniversary, even more so than our wedding anniversary. I kept the e-mails we exchanged in those early days, and we would spend time every Veterans Day reading through them and remembering how our love began. After Michael died, I was going through his e-mails and found he had saved the one from Match.com that was my response to his interest in me.

That’s the kind of man The Picky Eater was.

I was a lucky girl.

The Perfect Pot (or Cup) of Tea

I love black teas, particularly sturdy English Breakfast and smoky Lapsang Souchong. The Picky Eater loved Earl Gray. Many evenings, when he wasn't on his courier route, we would share a cup while watching television.

To brew the perfect pot or cup of tea:

• Bring cold water to a boil. (Cold water has more oxygen and makes a better-tasting tea. Also, do not let the water boil for too long, or it will release the oxygen and the tea will taste flat.)
• Fill the teapot or cup with some of the boiling water and let stand for a moment or two to warm.
• Empty the pot or cup, add the tea leaves or bags and pour the boiling water on top. Allow the tea to steep for three to five minutes or until the tea reaches the desired strength. Note: Steep green tea for only one to three minutes to prevent bitterness.

***Hey, thanks for reading! If you've enjoyed my posts or tried one of my recipes, you can support my writing efforts through Buy Me a Coffee...or tea...or flavored fizzy water. Your donation will be greatly appreciated, especially now as I deal with a chronic autoimmune disease that flared back up again. The button is located on the right-hand side of this page or you can follow the link here. If you can't donate, that's okay, too. Either way, thank you so much for reading my stuff!