carrot cake

the first time i made this carrot cake was for easter.  my mom loved it so much she requested it again for mother's day.

wanting to preserve my status as favorite daughter*, i obliged.

by the way, this recipe is dedicated to my awesome pal NELS, who demands i update this blog more frequently.

i will do my best!

 

start by peeling some carrots and chopping off the gross ends

 

i actually hate carrots, so i wanted the shavings as small as possible.

instead of a grater i used a microplane zester.

 

you'll want 2 cups worth of carrot zest.  set aside for now.

 

i also enjoy cocount flavor, but not large chunks.

so i took some sweetened shredded coconut and pulverized it in my mini food processor.

you can set this aside for now, too.

 

now you'll want to sift together some flour...

 

sugar...

 

salt...

 

baking soda...

 

and cinnamon.

 

now sift it into a large bowl.

 

it will be all airy and delightful like a happy cloud

 

now you'll measure a cup and a half of extra virgin olive oil

 

i used the same measuring cup to lightly beat 4 eggs

 

dump the oil and eggs into the dry mixture, then add vanilla

 

now you can throw in your itty bitty cocount chunks

 

your carrot zest,

 

and some drained, crushed pineapple (from the can)

i'm pretty sure i was supposed to mix the dry mixture with the oil and eggs, and then fold in the coconut, carrots, and pineapple.

  but i'm a rebel without a cause so i skipped that step and just mixed it all together at once.

 

now get two 9-in cake pans, flip them upside down and cut out a circle of wax paper, using the bottom of the pan as a guide.

 

butter the crap out of them

 

then place the wax rounds in the bottom

 

and butter the wax.

doesn't my stick of butter kind of look like a superhero with a wrapper cape?

like when we were kids and we would eat blow pops.  those had superhero wrapper capes too.

 

now you can pour half the batter into each pan. 

 

i didn't measure, just eyeballed it  

 

stagger them in the oven like so, and switch their positions halfway thru baking

 

when finished, place on a cooling rack until partially cooled

 

after about an hour of cooling, you can invert the cakes on the cooling rack and remove the pan.

also peel off the wax paper.

 

now we make the cream cheese frosting with 3 blocks of cream cheese and a stick and a half of butter

 

make sure they're room temperature, and beat together

 

add vanilla, and beat

 

now add some powdered sugar, and beat

 

ta-dah, icing.

 

when the cakes are cool, place the first one on the pedestal and ice it

 

first round is iced

 

place the second round on top, and continue icing

 

i never said i was good at icing cakes, mmmkay?

 

now cut yourself a big 'ol slice and enjoy!

carrot cake. (adapted from simply recipes)

cake ingredients

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp baking soda

1 tbsp cinnamon

1 1/2 cups olive oil

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tbsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded cocount (for smaller bits you can further chop it in a mini food processor like i did)

2 cups finely grated carrots (i used a microplane)

1 cup of drained crushed pineapple

icing ingredients

3 8-oz blocks of cream cheese, room temperature

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups confectioners sugar

cake procedure

preheat oven to 350

butter two 9-in round cake pans. add wax paper rounds to the bottom of each pan and butter those as well.

sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl

add remaining ingredients and beat well

pour half the batter into each pan and stagger them on the middle rack in the preheated oven

bake 45-50 minutes, switching the pans' positions halfway thru

cool on a cooling rack for 1 hour before inverting onto the rack to remove the pans and wax paper.

cool completely before icing

icing procedure

in a large mixing bowl, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth

add vanilla, beat

add confectioners sugar, beat well.

as for how to ice your cake- well, you saw the hack job i did.  you're on your own! 

*according to me

banana rum cake

my family split up into 3 teams for a friendly food competition a few weeks ago at the beach.

i was captian of team caribbean.  

we made some crab dip, jerk paste for chicken & shrimp skewers, fruit plates, and saffron rice on the side.

the grand finale was a banana rum cake for dessert.  

YEAH MON

i started with a box of yellow cake mix, and added baking soda

dark caribbean rum

water

two eggs (cracked with one hand, like a badass)

some chopped glazed pecan bits 

(i pulverized them in a food processor to make them as small as possible)

and some mashed bananas

(i actually pureed mine in a food processor)

then stir it until it comes together.

notice the markings on my hand?

i got henna for a hindu wedding.  pretty rad

alright so after you bring the ingredients together, you can finish up with a mixer

it should be pretty smooth

next you'll pour it into a greased & floured bundt pan

then slide it in the preheated oven and bake for about 50 min

when it comes out of the oven, let it cool in the pan for about 45 min before removing it to a cooling rack

forgot to photograph the steps, but i whipped up an icing of butter, rum, milk, vanilla, and confectioners sugar

pour it over the cake

and let it ooze

the cake was extremely moist, with a fine crumb. it was 2 days old by the time we ate it and some of the icing had soaked into the cake, which i think really enhanced the flavor and tenderness.

i did en up scraping most of the icing off because the rum in it was way too strong.  it really is better as more of a glaze if you use the rum.  if you omit the rum, a thick coating would work beautifully.

this cake was a big hit, and many of us enjoyed it for both dessert and breakfast for a few days until it was gone.

go make this.  and then eat it.

i promise you'll like it

banana rum cake.

cake ingredients

1 18.25oz package yellow cake mix

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 cup dark caribbean rum

1/3 cup water

2 eggs

1 cup mashed (or pureed) bananas

1/3 cup chopped pecans (optional. i don't like nuts in my cake so i pulverized mine into a pecan dust. i also used glazed pecans because they're sweet like candy)

icing ingredients

2 tbsp butter, room temperature

1 tbsp dark rum (optional)

1 tbsp milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar (gradually add 1/2 more to thicken the icing further if desired)

cake procedure

preheat oven to 350

grease and flour a bundt pan

combine all ingredients in a large bowl

bring together by stirring with a spoon, then beat on medium speed 2-4 min until smooth

pour into prepared bundt pan and bake 50 min

cool in the pan for 45 min before removing to a cooling rack

cool completely before icing

icing procedure

combine all ingredients except the sugar in a bowl and beat until smooth

gradually add confectioners sugar until desired consistency is reached

pour over cooled cake

eat. enjoy.

new stuff, and a poem

life is busy.  i've been doing a lot of cooking and baking, but it's all been so rushed that i haven't had time to document a lot of it.  all of my weekends are action-packed until june!

anyways-  the last worthwhile thing i made was a delicious carrot cake for easter.

recipe here, all i did was omit the nuts.

 

and this morning i ate a donut. it was so glorious that i had no choice but to write a poem:

DONUT HAIKU

soft and sugary

fried dough: my heart stops beating

metaphoric'ly

easter is coming.

lent.

i'm not religious.  not even a little bit.

but i was raised catholic and i still like the challenge of giving something up for lent.

donuts

(my kryptonite)

shopping

(except i already ordered that dress, so it doesn't count!)

fast food

(i don't eat it often anyway, but another good reason to stay away)
(...now i'm craving a crunchwrap)


anything else i should give up?
what about you?  making any sacrifices??