Carrot Cake

I have been lazy since coming back from Cuba. Still trying to recover from the surreal holiday. I had such a great time in Cuba! It was unpretentious, laid back, rough and exciting! The scenery changed from one city to another - from lush Vinales, to pretty Trinidad, charming Camaguey and beautiful and lively Havana. Coming back to normality was a little difficult but
not a bad thing… meeting up with friends, back to the tennis court (French Open is starting next week!)… I noticed the trees are now all green. It’s amazing to see how much they grow in just two weeks! They were just sprouting and rather bare when I left for Cuba. Just getting out and enjoying the beautiful weather, and warming up to baking again ;). First thing that came to mind was carrot cake as I had been wanting to bake one before I went on holiday. A friend told me she likes her carrot cake heavy and rich, with lots of dried fruit like a Christmas fruit cake. So I tried to make one like that. I got my inspiration from different recipes, taking ideas that I like from each to make my own version. I mixed some polenta with the flour to give the cake a little bit more texture, added some mashed banana and a dollop of sour cream to make it more moist, and some walnut to give it a crunchy bite. It’s not a bad start, I’m happy with the result ;) Next time, I will try it with rum (a touch of Cuba) and raisin instead of banana. I’m sure Chef Josh (whom I owe my baking skills to) wouldn’t mind, he loves rum. He wouldn’t hesitate adding rum (lots of it) to cakes. I suspect he had rum every morning before class coz he was always so merry ;)