Carrot Cake

Source: friend of a friend of a friend!

Ingredients:

3 cups grated carrots

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

2 cups flour

2 tsps cinnamon

2 tsps baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla (I used my homemade vanilla!)

*I also added freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:

Spray 2 round metal baking pans with Pam for baking. Mix wet ingredients, then mix in dry ingredients. Add carrots, one cup at a time. Bake at 325 degrees for 30-45 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pans on wire rack until almost cool.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Combine:

1 stick margarine

1 8oz package cream cheese

1 box (1 lb) powdered sugar

2 tsps vanilla

Father's Day 2009

This year for Father's Day, my sister-in-law Megan and I decided to make my dad a cake! We used box cake mix and her mom's special buttercream recipe for the icing. Everyone loved it!

Rainbow Cake

I wanted to bring something fun to my parent's house for Superbowl, and when I saw this cake I knew I had to try it!

Get detailed directions at The Omnomicon Blog!

Tuesday's with Dorie: REWIND!

I should really start calling this WEDNESDAY'S with Dorie, as I can't seem to get them in on time! Ugh. Anyway, this weeks recipe comes from Mari with Mevrouw Cupcake. She chose Creme Brulee. At first, I was super excited (so was Mike!)... but them reality hit. I don't have a torch, and I have no idea how to use a broiler (or much less what one is!). I still have so much to learn! Anyway, head over to Mari's page to check out the recipe.


I was beyond excited when I found out we could do a recipe rewind, instead of the Creme Brulee. I decided to go over the recipes I had not made yet and Michael chose my recipe for the week! It's Perfectection Pound Cake. The recipe can be found on pages 222 & 223 in Baking: From My Home to Yours.

Mine turned out wonderful. Dense, yet fluffy. Sweet, yet not too sweet. Really it is just right. I'm usually not 100% happy with my TWD recipes - but this one is an exception - I love it, and so does Michael! I hope you enjoy it too!

Double Quick Pumpkin Bars

This is another recipe I got from my church meeting called Apples of Gold. When I had this dessert, I immediately fell in love. It was amazing. They are the perfect way to begin autumn! I hope you enjoy it as much as my family and I do!

Double Quick Pumpkin Bars

BARS:

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

2 cups canned pumpkin

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsps baking powder

2 tsps cinnamon

2 cups flour

FROSTING:

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

6 tbsps margarine, softened

1 tsp milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups confectioner's sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. In a large mixing bowl, cream oil, eggs and sugar. Add remaining cookie ingredients and mix well. Pour batter into an ungreased 15x10 ince jelly roll pan. (I don't have this size pan, so I used a 13x9x2 cake pan - which is why mine are more cake like)

Bake at 350F for 20 to 25 minutes. (Mine took the whole 25 minutes, if not 1 or 2 more minutes). Cool completely and frost with cream cheese frosting.

To make frosting, cream together all frosting ingredients. Spread on colled, uncut cookies. After frosting has set, cut into equal size bars. Store any leftover bars, covered, in the refrigerator.

Variation: Add 1/2 cup choppd walnuts or raisins to the recipe.

Yield: 36 bars (Since mine was baked in a different pan, I had 24 pieces)

Best Cake Ever

A few weekends ago, Mike decided he wanted a few buddies over for some hamburgers & hotdogs. We also found out at the last minute that it was his good friend Justin's birthday. I didn't have time to make a cake, but I knew right where to buy one.

In Central VA we have a grocery store called Ukrops. Their bakery is simply amazing - but the best part is definitely the cakes. This cake is whipped icing atop a white cake. And just because Justin (birthday boy) is a goof-ball, we got him a cake with pink flowers!

Here is Justin, showing off his cake. Happy 22nd birthday!

School Bus Cake

A few years ago, I took cake decorating classes. Then I took them again with my husband shortly before we got married. So, everytime someone needs a cake made, they come to me! This cake is my most recent. My mom has an inside joke with her department at work about a bus - so she asked me to make a cake for a dinner get-together they were having. One of the ladies she works with, found this cake, and asked me to replicate it.

We pretty much replicated the cake exactly, except I decorated in stars instead of plain icing. But the structure is made from 2 pound cakes, then we iced and decarated. The lights are Hershey's kissables, the wheels are chocolate iced donuts with white chocolate chip headlights. The stop sign is a piece of licorice. But you can follow the directions found in the link above, or be creative with it!

TWD... a day late!

This week's recipe came from Amanda at Slow Like Honey. She chose Bill's Big Carrot Cake. My husband was super excited, he looves him some carrot cake. I think it's "ok" - but I was excited about this recipe since I have not made one before. The thought of carrots in my cake kind of weirds me out! Anyway, my oven and I had a fight over this cake. As you can see in the recipe, you are supposed to bake at 325 degrees for 40-50 minutes... I started to smell a burning after about 30 minutes, and my internal thermometer was reading 400 degrees. Humph. I went ahead and took the cakes out and let them cool. The bottom of 2 out of the 3 layers were burnt to a crisp and partly stuck to the cake pan. I was so upset. But, my husband came to the rescue and cut off most of the burned edges so it could be salvaged. So, while my layers are uneven, the edges are slightly crunchy and it is certaintly not the prettiest cake ever - it sure did taste good. My favorite part was definitely the icing. OMG the best icing ever, my mom agrees! Enjoy!

Bill's Big Carrot Cake

Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Yields 10 servings

Ingredients:

For the cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
3 cups grated carrots (about 9 carrots, you can grate them in food processor fitted w/ a shredding a blade or use a box grater)
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
½ cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) or dried cranberries
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 large eggs

For the frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick ( 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 pound or 3 and ¾ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or ½ teaspoon pure lemon extract
½ cup shredded coconut (optional)
Finely chopped toasted nuts and/or toasted shredded coconut (optional)

Getting ready:
Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter three 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, flour the insides, and tap out the excess. Put the two pans on one baking sheet and one on another.

To make the cake:
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut, and raisins.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and oil together on a medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs one by one and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear. Gently mix the chunky ingredients. Divide the batter among the baking pans.
Bake for 40-50 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until a thin knife inserted into the centers comes out clean. The cakes will have just started to come away from the sides of the pans. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and unmold them. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.
The cakes can be wrapped airtight and kept at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.

To make the frosting:
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the lemon juice or extract.
If you'd like coconut in the filling, scoop about half of the frosting and stir the coconut into this position.

To assemble the cake:
Put one layer top side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. If you added the coconut to the frosting, use half of the coconut frosting to generously cover the first layer (or generously cover with plain frosting). Use an offset spatula or a spoon to smooth the frosting all the way to the edges of the layer. Top with the second layer, this time placing the cake stop side down, and frost with the remainder of the coconut frosting or plain frosting. Top with the last layer, right side up, and frost the top- and the sides- of the cake. Finish the top with swirls of frosting. If you want to top the cake with toasted nuts or coconut, sprinkle them on now while the frosting is soft.
Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes, just to set the frosting before serving.

Serving:
This cake can be served as soon as the frosting is set. It can also wait, at room temperature and covered with a cake keeper overnight. The cake is best served in thick slices at room temperature and while it's good plain, it's even better with vanilla ice cream or some lemon curd.
Storing:
The cake will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. It can also be frozen. Freeze it uncovered, then when it's firm, wrap airtight and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost, still wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator.

White Cake with Lemon Filling

My grandparents were going to be in for the weekend, and Monday is my grandfathers birthday so my mom asked me to make a cake. I searched high and low before I found this recipe on AllRecipes.

White Cake with Lemon Filling

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup milk
4 egg whites
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons grated orange zest
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 egg
1 cup whipped cream

Preheat oven to 375 and grease two 9 inch rounc cake layer pans. Place 2 cups of the flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, the shortening, salt, and 2/3 cup of the milk in a mixing bowl and beat for 2 minutes with an electric mixer at medium speed. Stir in the baking powder. Add the egg whites, remaining milk and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla and beat for 2 more minutes. Pour batter into the prepared pans. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Let cakes cool then spread Lemon Filling between the layers and frost with any icing.
Lemon Filling: In a saucepan over medium heat combine 3/4 cups of the sugar, 2 tablespoons of the flour, the orange and lemon juice and the remaining egg. Cook until mixture has thickened. Remove from heat and let cook completely before folding in the whipped cream. Spread between cooled cake layers.
*Note, be careful how fast you heat up the filling. On my first try - I ended up with lemony scrambled eggs!

Everyone loved this cake, it was nice and light. As you can see, I added a Michigan logo because my grandfather is a HUGE fan of Michigan!