Maple syrup roasted carrot and ginger soup

Its been a wild weekend for weather in the UK and I am in need of comfort food and this soup certainly hits the mark on that score, using fresh local juicy carrots, a touch of warming ginger and the gorgeous smoky warmth of maple syrup this is a soup equivalent of a warm fluffy blanket.

Maple syrup is a natural product and I would love to go tapping maple trees but I don't think we can grow the right type of trees in UK, I have even found a website that tells you how to carry out the process.

On with recipe !

What you need

• 5 medium sized carrots, peeled and chopped into batons
• 1 white onion ,peeled- cut in chunks
• 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into match sticks
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled but left whole
• 1-2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 500ml vegetable stock
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Chives to garnish

What you do

• Pre heat the oven to 200c 
• Place all the vegetables and ginger in a roasting tin and toss with the oil and maple syrup
• Bake for about 45 minutes until the vegetables are slightly caramelised 
• Allow to cool slightly and place in a  suitably sized saucepan, add the stock
• Blitz with a hand held blender until smooth
• Bring the soup to a gentle simmer and season to taste.
• Serve when piping hot, garnished with snipped chives.

We hope you enjoy the recipe, we did if you'd like to leave a comment then please do so below. We love reading your comments.

Apple Cake

Maple apple cake was my second bake for the South Lancashire Clandestine Cake Club, despite a cake malfunction which involved shedding most of the icing and a broken plate whilst transporting the cake to the meeting, the cake turned out well and was incredibly light yet moist. I hope all my cakey friends enjoyed it. Sorry I haven't a piccy, I 'll have to bake it again, in the meantime here's the recipe.

Ingredients

• 400g cooking apples
• 3/4tsp ground cinnamon
• 2tsp maple syrup
• 125ml sunflower oil
• 150g light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 lemon grated zest
• 2 large free range eggs
• 275g plain flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1tsp bicarb of soda
• good pinch of salt
• 2 large free range egg whites

Method

Preheat your oven to 180c. Peel, core and the apples, cut into approx 1cm chunks and toss in a bowl with the cinnamon and maple syrup. Now mix the oil, sugar, vanilla, lemon zest and sugar in a mixer, until fluffy, break in the eggs and whisk until fluffy.

Now sift the flour, powders( salt, bicarb, etc), into the bowl and mix, add the apple mixture and stir,  this will be a stiff mixture.

Whisk the egg whites ( I use my lovely Kitchenaid mixer) until at the stiff peak, now fold into the other mixture trying not to lose air. Spoon into your prepared (base lined and oiled tin), I used a round springform tin approx 8 inch across, or you could use a tray approx 25x20x5cm.

Bake for approx 30-35 mins until cooked through, well risen and golden.

Allow to cool in the tin and then on a wire rack. I iced mine with a cinnamon soft cheese icing, but its so pretty that you don't really need to.

Store in an airtight tin.