Happy Birthday Eric

So my first blog from our new apartment. Actually it's my first blog in a long while. I'm afraid our energy in the last month got transferred to all things apartment related. Between the moving out of our old apartment and moving into our new apartment we have been pretty busy. It never ceases to amaze me how much STUFF one accumulates just from living. We definitely have twice as much things than a year ago - including, no surprise, a rake of kitchen equipment (juicer, food processor, the Backmeister). Luckily we had the help of our friends Sylvia and Michael on moving day so it turned out to be relatively pain free.

Anyways, we are now more or less settled in. We still have a few bits and pieces to sort out but it already feels like home. So much so that we decided to have a get together for Eric's 41st birthday. In true Berlin style we had a Sunday brunch. For the uninitiated that means getting together late Sunday morning with a mountain of food and beverages to graze on, as one chats and eats throughout the afternoon. See above pic of the spread we put on. Doesn't Eric look so pleased!

This is a pic of our new sitting room. It's lovely and bright, with two comfy couches. The bedroom is just off this. We chilled out here for the afternoon, with people coming and going, eating and drinking, speaking English and German too!

We also had an official blowing out of the candles, though there were only 5 (4 +1) on the cake this year. I decided to brave making the cake, which I'm glad to say turned out great. After much research and humming and hawing, I decided to go for a Delia Smith recipe, her Ultimate Carrot Cake. And what a cake! It was a big hit, which I was relieved about because I was worried it would be a flop after I forgot to add the baking powder! ( This is true!) Somehow though it turned out wonderful, dark, moist and fruity, and tasted fantastic. It was so good in fact I am pasting the recipe below.

So that was how we celebrated Eric entering his 41st year on this planet, in our new apartment with brunch, cake and friends. I feel so grateful that we have such a nice place to live for the next year and am already looking forward to another year in Berlin. It has been so good to us so far.

Eric's Ultimate 41st Birthday Cake - Guten Appetit!

7 oz (200 g) wholemeal self-raising flour (there is no self-raising flour in Germany but I forgot to add baking powder and it still rose fine - go figure!)
3 level teaspoons mixed spice
1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
6 oz (175 g) dark brown soft sugar, sifted
2 large eggs
5 fl oz (150 ml) sunflower oil
grated zest 1 orange
7 oz (200 g) carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
4 oz (110 g) sultanas
2 oz (50 g) desiccated coconut
2 oz (50 g) pecan nuts

For the syrup glaze:

juice 1 small orange
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 oz (75 g) dark brown soft sugar

For the topping:

1 x 250 g tub mascarpone
1 x 200g tub fromage frais, 8% fat
1 rounded tablespoon golden caster sugar
1 heaped teaspoon ground cinnamon

To serve:

2 oz (50 g) pecan nuts

You will also need 2 x 8 in (20 cm) sandwich tins, 11⁄2 in ( 4 cm) deep, bases lined with baking parchment. I used just one 10 inch cake tin so the cake had no layers and it turned out fine.

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6, 400°F (200°C), then turn it down to gas mark 3, 325°F (170°C) when you have toasted the pecan nuts.

First, place all the pecan nuts on a baking sheet and, using a timer, toast them in the oven for 8 minutes. Now chop one half roughly for the cake and the other more finely, for the topping later. Then don’t forget to turn the oven down to gas mark 3, 325°F (170°C) for the cake.

To make the cake, whisk the sugar, eggs and oil together in a bowl with an electric hand whisk for 2-3 minutes, then check that there is no sugar left undissolved. Now sift the flour, mixed spice and bicarbonate of soda into the bowl, tipping in the bits of bran left in the sieve. Then stir all this in gently, followed by the remaining cake ingredients. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared tins and bake the cakes on the centre shelf of the oven for about 30 minutes. They should be nicely risen, feel firm and springy to the touch when lightly pressed in the centre, and show signs of shrinking away from the sides of the tin. If not, give them another 2-3 minutes and test again.

Meanwhile, make the topping by whisking all the ingredients together in a bowl until light and fluffy. Then cover with clingfilm and chill for 1-2 hours, until you are ready to ice the cakes. To make the syrup glaze, whisk together the fruit juices and sugar in another bowl and then, when the cakes come out of the oven, stab them all over with a skewer and quickly spoon the syrup evenly over the hot cakes.

Now leave them to one side to cool in their tins, during which time the syrup will be absorbed. Then, when the cakes are completely cold, remove them from the tins. Spread one-third of the filling over one of the cakes, place the other on top, then cover the top and sides with the remaining icing. Scatter the remaining toasted pecan nuts over the top.