Caramelized pomegranate & carrot cake

Garnish with carrot, Greek yogurt and cayenne pepper

Jo is my husband's best friend in the States, he came to visit us for a few days. In the beginning I thought he'd be thrilled by sausages and salamis, which are ones of the specialities in Barcelona, as he used to smoke so many sausages that we would wrap them around our necks and ate until we dropped. But now he makes a significant change in his diet; he is no longer interested in, even just looking at the meat fat. Come to think of myself, I am actually tuning towards the same wave-length as his. For dessert I know I will get enough rich cakes just from someones' birthday parties; my body can't take them any more beyond the occasions. I still enjoy baking some cakes once in a while though; they make home smell good and everyone feel festive. I go easy on frosting (actually none) but crazy on seasonal fruit, as always, a small wedge goes a long way.

Green cardamon pods

The title and the photos tell the main ingredients in this cake - pomegranate and carrot. Pomegranate is native to the region from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran to the Himalayas in northern India. It is widely cultivated and naturalized over the whole Mediterranean region, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, India, the drier parts of southeast Asia, Malaya, the East Indies, tropical Africa, the drier parts of California and Arizona. The taste differs depending on the variety of pomegranate and its state of ripeness. It can be very sweet or it can be very sour. The ones I used to get in New Jersey were usually sour, laced with notes of tannin. On the contrary, these ones (above photo) with the origin of Alicante, a Mediterranean city in south-east of Spain, are sweet all the way. Even the seeds inside of pomegranate arils are so soft that I don't notice their existence in my cake.

I cooked the pomegranate arils with ginger, cinnamon and cardamon, originally for making spicy grenadine syrup which I needed for another dish. Then I added the cooked (caramelized) pomegranate arils in the carrot cake, replacing the traditional role of pineapple. I'm going to send this post to Weekend Herb Blogging, a world-wide blogging event created by our lovely Kayln. This week WHB is guest host by Simona at Briciole. Early next week please hop over to her site and check the spectacular recap of what we blog about herb or vegetable in different parts of the world.

To make caramelized pomegranate arils for this cake: you will need all the arils from 1 fruit (+ 2 if you make syrup). Slowly heat up 1 tablespoon of butter, over very low heat roast 1 teaspoon of diced fresh ginger, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ground seed from 1 green cardamon pod. When you smell the fragrance, add pomegranate arils and 2 table spoons of raw sugar, cook for a few minutes over medium heat. If making syrup, in addition of pomegranate juice from 2 fruits, and more sugar, cook until the liquid thickens.

Recipe of caramelized pomegranate & carrot cake

yield: 7" x 7" (18cm x 18cm) square cake

• 1 1/2 cups of plain flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• a pinch of salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• About 3 table spoons plain yogurt
• 1 1/2 cups finely shredded (juicy) carrot
• 1/2 cup caramelized pomegranate arils, please notice they already having adequate spices
• For garnish: carrot (cut to mini size), plain yogurt and cayenne pepper

How-to:

Pre-heat oven to 350 - 370F, pre-grease the baking tray.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and sugar, set aside.

In another bowl, whisk oil, egg and yogurt, combine them with the flour mixture, carrot and pomegranate, don't over mix. Pour the batter into the tray and bake until it turns golden brown, test with a toothpick to see if it comes out (almost) clean, about 40-45 minutes.

Garnish with mini carrot, more yogurt and cayenne pepper.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------