Carrot cake / Korenčkova torta

Sometimes when I say “I’m OK”, 

I need someone to look me in the eyes, 

hug me tight and say “I know you are not”.

My grandmother died. A strange start for a post about a carrot cake. I know. But this is my life, and I often ask myself if I should share here things that occupies my thoughts the most  or just keep it light and fluffy. I personally prefer  blogs, where I can identify with the  person that’s writing these things and I can feel him/her through words. I feel better after reading something that’s close to my heart and I feel like I got something out of reading this post and in some cases, I see that I’m not the only one that’s going through something, this person is going through it too.

Moja babica je umrla. Čuden začetek za zapis o korenčkovi torti. Vem. Ampak to je moje življenje in velikokrat kolebam med tem, ali naj tukaj delim tisto, kar najbolj okupira moje misli ali naj zapisane misli ostanejo lahkotne in vezane samo na recept. Meni osebno dajo največ blogi, s katerimi se lahko poistovetim, v katerih začutim osebo in potem mi je lažje pri srcu, ker se lahko prepoznam v zapisanem. Takrat imam občutek, da sem nekaj odnesla od prebranega. Da sem vsaj to začutila, da nisem edina, ki se ji to dogaja.

My life is not Pinterest perfect and I don’t want to send this type of message into the world. What good would that do? All popular social media websites are encouraging just that: false perfection. How does it affect people? Mostly negative. All of these fragments, which are posted on social media, are not even a half of the real life.

Moje življenje ni Pinterest popolno in nočem v svet pošiljati sporočila, da je popolno. Čemu bi to koristilo? Vsa socialna omrežja, ki so se v družbi prijela, spodbujajo ravno to: lažno popolnost. Kako to vpliva na ljudi? Predvsem negativno. Vsi ti drobci, ki so objavljeni na socialnih omrežjih, ne predstavljajo niti polovice realnega življenja.

Death .. that’s a tough thing for me to handle. I know that each of you have the same problem with it, but I think I have almost exaggerated fear of it. Therefore this last week was hard for me. Especially because it happened after my dad was in a hospital for two months. I was there almost every day and I couldn’t think of other things. The whole situation was difficult and I was scared.

Smrt .. s težavo jo doživljam. Vem, da jo vsak ampak mislim, da imam skoraj pretiran strah pred njo. Zato mi je bilo težko zadnji teden. Še posebno zato, ker se je to zgodilo po temu, ko je bil moj oči dva meseca v bolnišnici. Skoraj vsak dan sem bila tam in praktično nisem mogla misliti na druge stvari. Celotna situacija je bila težka in bilo me je strah.

Illness, death ... I don’t know who wouldn’t be totally emotionally exhausted after something like that. It's hard to explain to people what you feel in such times. Yes, we all have experience with these ugly, sad events but at the moment this is happening to you, not them. When you mention someone what happened, it’s almost impossible to tell it in a way that this type of news deserves it. You tell it in a rush, people tell you some classic phrases and you stay with that pain alone, because it’s happening to you…. not them.

Bolezen, smrt…ne vem kaj te bo čisto psihično izčrpalo, če ne to. Težko je ljudem razložiti, kaj občutiš v takih obdobjih. Ja, vsi imamo izkušnje s temi grdimi, žalostnimi dogodki ampak v tistem trenutku se to dogaja tebi, ne njim. Ko komu omeniš kaj se je zgodilo, se to skorajda ne more povedati na način, ki si ga zasluži taka novica. Na hitro poveš, ljudje povedo nekaj klasičnih fraz, ti pa ostaneš s to bolečino sam, ker se dogaja tebi….ne njim.

Death makes me unstable. Somebody please turn off the sprinklers. I've always been emotional and there are some things that can instantly bring me to tears. Maybe one day I'll be stronger, but today I know that I'm not. I need time to cry it all out...and then….then it will be easier.

Smrt me dela labilno. Nekdo naj ugasne škropilce. Od vedno sem bila čustvena in so stvari, ki me v trenutku pripeljejo do solz. Morda bom nekoč bolj trdna, danes vem, da nisem. Potrebujem čas, da izjokam stvari, razčistim vse skupaj in potem …potem bo lažje.

Although she was 94 years old and really no one should be surprised that she passed away, it is still death. This is not something you can handle with ease. What bothers me is the way people deal with such death. They devote more attention to things that have no value, but such things get swept under the carpet.

Čeprav je bila stara 94 let in resnično nihče ne bi smel biti presenečen nad tem, da je ugasnila, je to vseeno smrt. Vseeno to ni nekaj takega, s čimer bi lahko človek opravil z lahkoto. Moti me način, kako ljudje obravnavajo tako smrt. Več pozornosti namenimo stvarem, ki nimajo nobene vrednosti, take stvari pa pometemo pod preprogo.

I wish I could happily write about how good was this carrot cake, instead of writing about death. But then I wouldn’t be honest. You couldn’t feel me in these words. Every day, I opened a blank Word document. Every day, I wanted to publish a new post. But I couldn’t. I didn’t know what to write about. How do I ignore the feelings I’m currently marinating in? The more time that passes from your last post, the harder it is to return. Suddenly you find it strange that  you are writing a blog. Every time I read some tips on how to write, the first tip is always the same: write as often as possible. I believe in this tip, because I know that the less you write, the harder it is. Like the late Maya Angelou said: “You can't use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have.”

Želim si, da bi lahko veselo pisala o temu, kako dobra je bila ta korenčkova torta, namesto, da pišem o smrti. Samo potem ne bi bila iskrena. Mene ne bi bilo čutiti v teh besedah. Vsak dan sem imela odprt nepopisan Wordov dokument. Vsak dan, sem si želela, da bi objavila nov zapis. Pa nisem mogla. Nisem vedela, o čem naj pišem. Kako naj ignoriram čustva, v katerih se trenutno mariniram? Več časa kot mine od zadnje objave, težje se je vrniti. Kar naenkrat se ti zdi čudno, da sploh pišeš svoj blog. Vsakič, ko berem kakšne nasvete o tem, kako pisati, je vedno prvi nasvet: Čim več piši. Verjamem v ta nasvet, ker vem, da manj kot pišeš, težje je. Tako kot je pokojna Maya Angelou rekla: ‘’Ustvarjalnosti ne moreš porabiti. Bolj kot jo uporabljaš, več je imaš.’’

Okraski za torto - zastavice s cvetličnim vzorcem

Carrot cake is somehow connected with everything that I wrote. I took it to the hospital, to my dad. Cake with carrots probably doesn’t sound good to anyone. It’s quite popular among Americans and I once watched some show, in which the host ate carrot cake and she could not stop eating it because it was so delicious. I was wondering what's the trick. Gasper was appalled and said he won’t eat a cake with carrots in it and I got the same confused look from my dad. I can’t compare this cake with any other carrot cake, because it’s the only one I've ever eaten in my life but it seems to me that I managed to find the best recipe. Everyone loved it, even men. It doesn’t taste like carrots. What has surprised me is the absolute tenderness of this cake, juiciness, the effect of nutmeg and the sweetness ....

Korenčkova torta je nekako povezana z vsem tem, kar sem napisala. Očiju sem jo nesla v bolnišnico. Torta s korenjem verjetno nikomur ne zveni dobro. Med Američani je kar popularna in enkrat sem gledala oddajo, v kateri je voditeljica jedla korenčkovo torto in se sploh ni mogla ustaviti, ker ji je bila tako dobra. Zanimalo me je v čemu je trik. Gašper se je zgražal, da ne bo jedel torte s korenjem in podobno začudenje sem doživela tudi pri očiju. Te torte ne morem primerjati s kakšno drugo korenčkovo torto, ker je ta edina, ki sem jo jedla v življenju ampak zdi se mi, da mi je uspelo najti najboljši recept. Vsem je bila všeč, celo moškim. Okus sploh ne vleče na korenje. Tisto kar je mene presenetilo je absolutna nežnost cele torte, mehkoba, sočnost, učinek muškatnega oreščka in sladkoba….

I could be at peace ... on the balcony ... surrounded by greenery ... with a piece of carrot cake on a floral plate, with a cup of black vanilla tea ... like a ..... grandmother. With love, Neja

Čisto pomirjena bi bila…na balkonu…obdana z zelenjem…s koščkom korenčkove torte na cvetličnem krožniku, s skodelico črnega-vanilijevega čaja… kot kakšna…..babica. Z ljubeznijo, Neja

Recipe from: Gimme some oven

The Recipe

Ingredients Carrot Cake  1 1/2 cups + 2 Tbsp. vegetable or canola oil 1 cup granulated sugar 1 cup brown sugar 6 eggs 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract 3 1/4 cups flour 1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon 2 tsp. baking soda 2 tsp. salt 1 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg pinch of ground cloves 1 lb. finely-grated fresh carrots Cream Cheese Frosting 3 (8 oz.) bricks cream cheese, room temperature 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract 1/2 tsp. salt 6 cups powdered sugar (or more if needed to thicken) The process The Carrot Cake  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Or alternately, you can use two 9-inch round baking pans. In the bowl of a large stand mixer, mix together oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until combined and smooth. Add in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, and mix until smooth. In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, nutmeg and cloves) until combined. Add the dry ingredient mixture to the mixing bowl, and beat on medium-speed until just combined, scraping down the pan at least once to be sure that everything is well mixed. Then fold in the grated carrots by hand, and stir until combined. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans. Then bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cakes comes out clean. Remove pans and let them cool on a wire rack until the cakes reach room temperature. Pop them in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to cool off slightly. Then remove them and use a large knife or a cake leveler to level off the domed tops of the cakes so that they are level and even. Layer the cakes with the cream cheese frosting, and then frost the outside of the cake as you desire. Serve that day or store, covered, for up to 3-4 days. The Cream Cheese Frosting Using an electric mixer, cream together cream cheese and butter on medium speed for 1 minute or until smooth with no lumps remaining. Add in vanilla extract and salt, and continue mixing until combined. Lower speed to medium-low and gradually add in powdered sugar. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until combined. If frosting is too thick, you can add in a teaspoon or two of water. If it is too thin, you can add in more powdered sugar.

Sestavine Biskvit 335g + 2 žlici. rastlinskega olja 200g kristalnega sladkorja 200g rjavega sladkorja 6 jajc 1 žlica. ekstrakta vanilije 406g bele moke 1 žlica mletega cimeta 2 žlički sode bikarbone 2 žlički soli 1 žlička pecilnega praška 1/2 žličke mletega muškatnega oreščka ščepec mletih klinčkov 500g fino naribanega svežega korenja Glazura  600g kremnega sira (Philadelphia) 227g nesoljenega masla, sobne temperature 1 žlica ekstrakta vanilije 1/2 žličke soli 750g sladkorja v prahu Postopek  Biskvit Pečico segrejte na 180°C. Uporabite 3 pekače za torto (jaz sem imela samo enega, tako da sem vsak sloj spekla posebej v istem pekaču). Z maslom namastite pekače in posujte z moko. Z električnim mešalnikom spenite olje, bel in rjav sladkor. Dodajte jajca, eno po eno, nato dodajte vanilijin ekstrakt. V drugi skledi združite preostale suhe sestavine (moko, cimet, sodo bikarbono, sol, pecilni prašek, muškatni orešček in klinčke). Dodajte mešanico suhih sestavin v mokre sestavine  in z električnim mešalnikom zmešajte do gladkega. Nato z lopatico ali žlico vmešajte naribano korenje. Maso enakomerno razdelite na tri dele in jih vlijte v pekač. Potem pečemo 25-30 minut ali dokler zapičen zobotrebec ne pride ven čist. Pustite, da se biskvit ohladi do sobne temperature. Lahko jih postavite v hladilnik za 10-15 minut. Z nožem za rezanje biskvita odrežite neenakomeren vrh, izravnajte ga. Glazuro namažite med sloje in nato z njim namažite še vso zunanjost torte. Postrezite svežo ali hranite v hladilniku 3-4 dni. Glazura  Z električnim mešalnikom do kremnega zmešajte kremni sir in maslo, na najvišji hitrosti, da se znebite vseh grudic. Dodajte ekstrakt vanilije in sol ter še naprej mešajte kakšno minuto. Mešalnik znižajte na najnižjo hitrost in postopoma dodajajte sladkor v prahu. Povečajte hitrost in vse skupaj do kremnega zmešajte. Če je glazura pregosta ji lahko dodate žlico ali dve vode, če je preredka ji dodajte sladkor v prahu.