Carrot Walnut Cake

There was a popular supermarket near our apartment. Mr. Parveez and I would buy our regular grocery from that supermarket. During the winter season, a baker in their bakery made carrot cake, with walnuts/ without walnuts, sometimes with raisins. Every winter, also known as “holiday season” in USA, we would look forward to the carrot cake. We even served it to our guests, took it for friends.

And one day the baker left the store. We only found during winter when the carrot cake was being sold but something changed. On trying to figure out, we questioned the Manager and found that the baker was from another country and has left for good. Even the manager agreed that the though he left the cake recipe, it just didn’t come out the same. Eventually, the store stopped keeping carrot cake.

But, we looked everywhere with our taste buds craving the same flavor. 10 years of search and over 100 stores and supermarkets, different towns, different bakeries but it was just not the same. One day I came across a recipe for Thanksgiving carrot pudding and reading that I felt, it wouldn’t be that tough trying it out. I also realized with times that there was some spice that was missing in the normal carrot cake. That spice was nutmeg. Isn’t it funny, that a pinch of a spice can change the complete taste.

I first tried the basic cake without frosting and once I perfected the basic cake, I tried the frosting and both together make a super excellent Carrot Walnut Cake. Its exactly like the cake we liked, probably a little better. This will bring you loads of praises on your parties and get together.

Cinnamon Rolls with cream cheese icing

These cinnamon rolls aren’t just easy to make but, are also super fluffy and light, better than any store bought roll…Trust me. These would melt in your mouth and melt you heart too…

Honestly, yeast and I aren’t very good friends. It actually used to scare me to use yeast and I have had so many failures with yeast, that I have lost count. But then, I couldn’t give up my love for baking breads and decided to get to know “Yeast” better and learn to work cordially. We’ve been best friends since then….LOLzzz. I know my stories are sometimes too long and some of you might just want to jump to the actual dish than to play around and read the stories. But you know what, this is what would connect us. Every food has a story and mostly, its worth remembering and sharing, even if the dish is a disaster.

So, this is the story to this wonderful dish: I realized that would see cinnamon rolls EVERYWHERE. We go to the mall and Mr. Parveez would buy them. I see my boys head over heels in love with them. I see my little one craving for more….and sometimes all these are signs that you have to be on a mission and make your own. So, I start my search to get an authentic recipe  and found some wonderful recipes, all very different from the other. I decided to pick and choose and make my own. First Batch, a BIG disaster  and I made changes. Second Batch, a few more changes…a few more after the third. Fourth batch, the cinnamon rolls were perfect but the icing messed it up and finally, fifth batch, they came out perfect. This recipe is fool proof and something that you will save and love and pass on.

 

With regular cinnamon roll recipes, there’s so a lot of waiting time for the yeast to rise and to be sure that the dough would turn out perfect. Honestly, as much as I enjoy cooking, I do not have the time and energy to wait that long. I love making things that can be served in less amount of time. Something, that’s clean, cooked with love and effort without wasting too much time. But, that doesn’t mean I would try a recipe where cinnamon rolls are made within an hour. I like to give my food flavors time to mingle too.

I’ve managed to meet these soft cinnamon rolls in a little prep time with a faster procedure and made sure that they stay soft, fluffy and wonderful.

P.S. Don’t let the yeast scare you. It takes time to open, but once you know it well, you will love it just like me.