Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Caramelized Carrots

carrotcake

I had an absolutely lovely time in Tallinn! It was great to finally meet Pille, and it was a lot of fun to spend time with Kristina and Dagmar. We walked a lot, ate a lot and shopped a little bit. (Dagmar took a lot of photos, I just snapped a few - will show them later.)

Now, more about carrots. The post yesterday was a bit short, I know - I really meant to tell you how wonderful that easy preparation was. Cooking the carrots like that, with no water, turns them so juicy and flavorful. Really highly recommended!

For something entirely different, I served a carrot cake at a job function recently. A bought carrot cake, actually. However, I made some caramelized carrots for decoration, and I dare say that this turned something good-but-not-great into at least something pretty-great. And when I make my own carrot cake (I have to admit - I never have! Not for any particular reason really, I just haven't.) I will definitely make this again. I like the neon orange, and it's much easier than, say, sculpting tiny carrots from marzipan. (But if that's what you like, don't let me stop you!)

Caramelized Carrots

3 small or two large carrots
250 ml water (1 cup)
250 ml sugar (1 cup)

Peel the carrots and shred finely. I used a zester, to get fine, long strips. Combine sugar and water in a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Add the carrots, and boil for 4-5 minutes, until they turn a bit translucent.

Fish out the carrot strips with a slotted spoon, and set aside for now. Bring the sugar syrup to a boil again, and reduce until it thickens slightly. Add the carrots back in, put a lid on it, and remove from heat. Let it cool completely, then drain the carrots on some paper before using.

Recipe in Swedish:
Karamelliserad morot

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have all the ingredients home to make a carrotcake with caramelized carrots :D Thanks Anne!

Anonymous said...

When I first saw your picture, I thought you put caramelized orange peel on the cake. I thought, hmm, that's a good idea. Then I realized that it was actually carrots and that totally makes sense - what a great idea!

la gemmota said...

Hi, I just find your blog looking for a carrot cake decoration. I did it last week and I found the caramelized carrots really easy to make and nice in the cake! Thanks from Barcelona!