Yep, it’s time again for the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop, and once again I’m back with something slightly outside the norm – shocker. The theme this month is ‘Layer upon Layer‘ and I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do. At the beginning I had intended to make a dessert with lots and lots of layers like a baklava – or something else equally flaky and sticky – but I couldn’t bring myself do it.
You see, I’m a bit rich-fooded and sugared out right now. It started with March into Merivale, continued in Bowral and then wrapped up at Taste, landing firmly on my waistline in the process. We won’t even talk about the growing collection of sweets from various outings and posts that are talking dirty to me from the freezer.
So combine this quandary with a far too-big stash of elusive purple carrots in my fridge and the wheels started turning. Purple Carrot Cake it would be… but how to layer it? A layer cake was far to ‘normal’, well unless it is a cake with 14 layers… but maybe I’ll save that for another time. The only option in my mind was a Trifle… but I don’t like trifle…
I should clarify. I don’t like the only trifle I’ve ever eaten. It had cake from the grocery store and fruit from a can and if my memory serves me correctly, lime jelly. It was not a positive experience. So I was off to create a trifle that I would enjoy.
Layer one – the cake: Purple carrots, whole wheat flour, pineapple and a touch of honey.
Layer two – the jelly: Sparkling apple. Just sparkling apple. No extra sugar, no funky colours, no sickly sweetness.
Layer three, four, five and six – fruit, juice, custard, and cream: Diced Apple Compote and cooking liquid, Milk and Honey Vanilla Pudding, Whipped Coconut Cream.
Layered, photographed and eaten. Oh yeah, that works.
Purple Carrot Cake and Apple Jelly Trifle
Ingredients:
1 batch Purple Carrot Cake [See below]
1 batch Sparkling Apple Jelly [See below]
1 batch Milk and Honey Vanilla Pudding [Coming soon]
Diced Apple Compote and cooking juices [See below]
Brandy – if you so wish
Whipped Coconut Cream
Method:
Dice cake and jelly. Arrange cake in base of a large dish or individual glasses > drizzle over cooking juices and brandy > layer apple pieces > jelly > pudding/custard.
Repeat layers as necessary dependent on height of serving dish, finishing with a topping of the whipped coconut creme.
Allow to sit for flavours to meld… or just dig in.
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Purple Carrot Cake
Ingredients
2 c coarsely grated purple carrots*
1/2 c crushed pineapple in juice, drained well
2 1/2 c organic whole wheat flour plus extra for pans
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 tsp each cinnamon and ginger
1/2 tsp each cloves and nutmeg
4 eggs
1/2 c honey or apple juice concentrate
1/2 neutral oil*
1/2 c pineapple juice drained from fruit*
2 tsp vanilla
Full Method
Preheat oven to 180 C [350 F]. Coat two 8 inch [20 cm] round or square cake tins with oil spray, line bases with baking [parchment] paper and dust sides with a bit of flour.
Sift dry ingredients into a medium bowl.
In a large bowl, beat eggs with a whisk for 1 minute. Add oil and honey and whisk for a further 30 seconds. Add vanilla, juice, carrots and pineapple, whisk to combine.
Gently fold dry ingredients into wet with a rubber spatula until just mixed. Divide evenly across prepared pans. Smooth surfaces.
Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge, turn out, remove paper from base and cool on wire rack.
Chop up for trifle. Alternatively, eat plain or stack and frost with a regular Cream Cheese or White Choc Cream Cheese Icing.
Makes a two-layer cake. Halve recipe for a single layer.
*Notes:
- Yes, of course you can use plain old orange carrots. The cake will still be lovely. But not purple, obviously.
- I use grapeseed oil
- Make sure you use crushed pineapple in natural juice instead of syrup. To drain, place in a sieve and squeeze as much liquid out as possible, reserving to use in the recipe.
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Sparkling Apple Jelly
Ingredients
375 ml [1 can, 1 1/2 c] sparkling apple juice – no sugar added
125 ml [1/2 c] boiling water
1 Tbsp gelatine*
Full Method
In a medium bowl, sprinkle gelatine over 3 Tbsp of the apple juice and set aside to soften for 2-3 minutes.
Pour in boiling water and stir until gelatine is completely disolved. Stir in remaining apple juice.
Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
To use in Trifle, chop roughly and layer with other ingredients. Or just eat with a spoon.
*Notes:
- You could use gelatine leaves, simply substitute an appropriate quantity to set 500 mls of liquid.
- To make this vegetarian, you could use agar-agar, simply substitute an appropriate quantity to set 500 mls of liquid.
- In the absence of sparkling apple juice you can use plain, clear, no sugar added apple juice or sparkling white grape.
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Diced Apple Compote
84th original recipe here
Ingredients:
2 large or 3 medium organic apples
dash tsp cinnamon
pinch sea salt
1/2 cup water
Method:
Roughly dice apples. Add all ingredients to a medium saucepan and simmer 15 minutes, shaking pan occasionally.
Remove from heat and place apples into one bowl and cooking juices into another. Cool.
To use in trifle add a splash of Brandy to the juice and spoon over cake layer. Use apples as fruit layer.
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This post is part of the Sweet Adventures Blog Hop, March ‘Layer upon Layer’ Adventure hosted by Capers of the Kitchen Crusader. Check out all the other wonderful desserts that have been linked-up below!
SABH is a monthly blog hop brought to you by your hostesses – Delicieux, The Hungry Australian, Dining With a Stud, The Capers of the Kitchen Crusader and me – 84th & 3rd.
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How interesting! Love that you came up with something completely different… and I am with you on watching the waistline thing. That’s why I went for a relatively low fat slice, rather than a layered cream cake!
Cheers Lizzy, the slice sounds delicious!
Haha, I went for the lower fat option too – I think that all this dessert blogging is starting to get too much 🙂 I love the idea of using sparkling apple juice for the jelly – did it taste much different to regular apple juice once made into jelly? I imagine all the ‘sparkling’ would go out of it?
One quick note though – you shouldn’t tag this one as ‘vegetarian’ because, delicious as it looks, it most certainly isn’t vegetarian!
Not too different with the sparkling apple but I find it less sweet.
The cake is vegetarian but thanks for the reminder about gelatine (I’m guessing that is what you are referring to) notes have been updated to include an agar-agar substitution!
what a brilliant idea to use purple carrot for cake! Inspired. I have to try that.
I agree with KC I love the colour that the purple carrots bring to the cake. Purple carrots are so delicious too so I imagine that it would taste even better in cake form!
Agreed – why haven’t I thought of using purple carrots in cake before!? It looks so pretty. Im keen to try this!
Love the colours from the purple carrots 🙂 I hear ya about the overstocked sugarness. And its even worse in the supermarkets with Easter just around the corner haha
I know! Chocolate eggs and bunnies at every turn!
Wow JJ! This looks stunning! I love the purple carrot cake! I was meaning to ask you about it after all those purple alien carrot photos on instagram! I love this trifle version! Nom, nom!
Heehee – thanks 🙂 More Purple Carrot treats to come – I’m definitely obsessed!
The trifle glasses are gorgeous!
ta – I love them too! I have an ever-growing glass collection… It’s a hobby not a problem, I swear…
Your first encounter with trifle sounds a lot like mine. Trifle was always Mum’s contribution to a party (that and the toasted curried tuna rolls). She used a store bought sponge roll filled with sickly jam, that was heaven to my pre-teen palate. Funnily enough, I didn’t ever appreciate the assembled trifle. Tinned fruit; bleurgh.
I’m quite keen to try your carrot cake. I’ve been playing around with a honey sweetened, wholemeal flour recipe, but haven’t yet got it quite right.
Tuna rolls, oh dear. Let me know if you try the cake!
OMG, JJ… You are such a star!! This is seriously creative of you, I love the way you think in the kitchen. I am quite fond of less sweet desserts, and especially the ones that uses vegetables in them! Sooo impressed thanks for sharing with us this lovely creation. Love it!
I love the colour combo of your dessert. Such a visual treat so I can only imagine how good it tastes 😀
You have been busy! Love the creativity here and how you manage to take this to the next level. Personally I think assembling trifles are a pain but I love these cute individual ones! Bravo!
I love what you’ve done with your trifle. Carrot cake and apple jelly beautiful. Trifle certainly has changed ( thankfully). They are great in individual glasses
That’s a great looking dessert. I love the use of the purple carrots and the jelly is awesome and any dessert with the word ‘sparkle’ will do it for me. xx
The years of making fumo(?) beads with intricate details is coming through. Sure hope someone decides to make that when they come home!