Stiffkey Stores, Stiffkey, Norfolk.
There are days, believe it or not, when I'm quite inclined to be a little less stern, a little less didactic, a little less proscriptive. Here, for the record, is one of them.
You should all know by now what I generally think about tray bakes. Or have you really not been paying sufficient attention? In brief, its lazy baking, it's not really a cake, it frequently hides faults that would clearly be seen were it a proper full sized cake. But halt, hold my horses before they bolt off into the wild horizon of fulmination and froth. Maybe it is possible for there to be exceptions made. If so, what would these be, and why? Please enlighten us, Oh carrot cake guru. Proceed to unfold your hidden truths.
Stiffkey Stores, unsurprisingly is in Stiffkey. Part Post Office, part general corner shop, part cafe and part a low key interiors store. A current iteration which appear as to have been much more successful than previous ones. Its become a destination. Because it covers some local village requirements and is a welcome stop over point for rambling tourists and otherwise. Including us. We frequently have broken our journey to Wells next the Sea here. Even though its barely four miles to go!
Flat Whites? Passable to good. A decent blend of coffee and grind doing most of the heavy work. The range of confectionery is, however, notable for its range and novelty. Most of which are pulled off. There is the usual preponderance of things baked in trays, innovative brownies, blondies rocky roads and other variations on a theme of pastry. Things quickly laid flat in a shallow tin, cooked on 160 fan, for 15-20 minutes, and allowed to fully cool, then cut with a knife. Voilà! Segments.
I ventured into the consumption of a carrot tray bake, because I was in the mood for a cheeky surprise. Call me intuitive, I was not disappointed. This small square of confectionery, as you can see from the photo, was cut to fit neatly and properly into its paper serving tray. Not slumped ungainly at an oddly precipitous angle, like an ill fitting shoe. Just because you provide food in disposable plates and cups, doesn't mean everything has to be thrown in too. With a bit of forethought, presentation is an easy thing to be mindful of and to master. Here they appear to give it some.
And so we come to the carrot tray bake itself. Pray tell us what that was like, and why this particular tray bake could overrule your Golden Rule No 3? Well, let us be clear. It still does not make it a cake. A tray bake is a tray bake, is a tray bake. But perhaps, as a tray bake it can hint at a greatness beyond the limitations of its shallow form. That if it were a fully formed cake would make it superlative. Also simply to attain the essence of a carrot cake, in a more minimalist genre of confectionery should be worthy of praise. With the necessary rejoinder - and now go bake a cake!
Now on the top of this carrot tray bake, was a wonderful cream cheese frosting, layered on generously with a pallette knife. Not even like low fat, or feverishly sweating in the heat of day. Mixed with confectionery icing sugar, not caster sugar. It was thus as smooth as face cream but firm enough to show no sign of slithering.
The tray bake itself had a great looking texture. A smattering of succulent sultanas and spices one could genuinely call subtle. The requisite burnt sienna colour, in the characteristic rough stranding of a bake containing a far from paltry amount of carrot. It never ceases to amaze me that anyone would stint on an ingredient so central to a successful carrot confection. It would be comparable to refusing to put an egg in Eggs Benedict just to keep the calories down.
In short this was in the direct transmission lineage from a great carrot cake. It was all in that original recipe, but for a tray bake this was more than a cut above, what can often be a very low bar. Weighty and carroty, what else could bring such joy and pleasure to your mouth Stephen? I couldn't possibly comment, let alone blog.
CARROT TRAY BAKE SCORE - 7/8
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