CARROT CAKE REVIEW NO 3 ~ The Banana Masquerade

Sheringham. Norfolk











If I was blind, or at the very least blindfolded, and I took one bite out of this substantial wedge of a cake, I would have sworn it was a banana cake. Yes, here we are on only our third Carrot Cake Review and we're developing, without really trying I have to say, a bitch of a baking theme, its The Banana Masquerade.  Where a banana cake is trying to pass itself off as a carrot cake. Throw banana in any cake, muffin or flapjack, and I know why you are doing it, but please, keep the banana in its holster. Carroty sweetness is a very subtle delicate thing, so easy, it would seem, to completely be lost sight of in a banana swamp. 

Now I'm confident they were having a good stab at making a carrot cake here.  It has a very pleasing level of moistness, there was, unfortunately, a suggestion lingering on my palate of a slightly under cooked cake mix,  The visual texture is similar to a bonafide carrot cake, its also quite a bit denser, with more than a welcome scattering of moisture hugging sultanas and meaty chunks of walnuts, all things to my mind de rigeuer for any carrot cake with serious ambitions.

It was quite a massive slice, probably the biggest I've been served so far. There was only a hint in the after taste of ginger, apart from that no other discernible spice was present. So I don't know whether they ran out of mixed spice, or thought 'oh just shove a bit of ginger in, that'll do'. Spices, used in moderation, are good at romancing the carrot. So don't be frugal or profligate with them. 

 The butter cream topping, for it was such a species, was a good half an inch thick, very stiff, and got its level of sweetness just about right. Someone knows how to make a good butter cream that doesn't shout its credentials so loudly that no other flavour can be heard.  So, not a complete mess of a cake, with some good redeeming features, but seriously let down, I've got a feeling your going to get sick of my saying this,  BY TOO MUCH BANANA !!!!
CARROT CAKE SCORE - 5/8


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CARROT CAKE REVIEW No 10 ~ The Confectionary Sins Of The Spice Trade

Image
Whitby, Yorkshire. Just because I'm on holiday doesn't mean I neglect my search for the perfect Carrot Cake, I have merely broadened the designated search area. Also, one should not assume that because I was in one of my favourite cafes in Whitby, whose range of superlative cakes I could go into raptures about, that they were a shoe-in for a high rating. Reader read on. Well, it was a huge portion, on what was quite a small plate, perhaps they were trying to emphasise I was getting value for money. But you know me, I'm not easily swayed by appearances however beautifully confected, if it doesn't cut it once its placed inside my gob, then all that is for nought. Unfortunately once this cake hit my palette and the taste buds started to do their routine detective work, the first flavour hit was of ginger, no, spice, oh boy this is a mixed spice cake my dears. One might want to be charitable, and assume the baker had a bit of an over tipple with the spice
Read more

CARROT CAKE REVIEW No 2 - Sponge Cake does not a Carrot Cake make

Image
Sheringham, Norfolk, The cake on the plate looked enormous, declaring itself a value for money slice of cake loud and clear. You could even see the gratings of carrot creating an orange speckled effect. The first taste of the cake was that it was rather fluffy and, I have to say, excessive in the lightness of its texture. I don't know about you, but for me, one of the characteristics of a really good carrot cake is that because of its primary ingredient, ie. the carrot, it  tends to be a dense and weightier cake than most other species. When you envisage a carrot cake, fluffy, never comes to mind. I came to the conclusion that this cake was, in its very essence, made from a sponge mix with some large gratings of carrot thrown in for local colour. So, it carries its carrot credentials a bit weakly. That said, it still had some carrot taste to it, plus a mild amount of mixed spice. The overall appearance and taste did teeter towards bland, which is a shame. Had
Read more

Searching for the Perfect Carrot Cake

I've been conducting an experiment, in every cafe I eat , if they have one I eat only Carrot Cake. I'm trying to establish the qualities of the perfect version. As Hubby and I are planning to open a cafe, you could say this is essential research. This blog is to help assert more analytical clarity. Carrot Cakes vary, from 'this is just a brown sponge' to 'my god there's some mixed spice in that'. Even my very favourite cafes for coffee and ambience, can be let down by their cakes. So these cake reviews should not be taken as representative of the cafe's qualities as a whole. Anyway, on with the search.  
Read more