Carrot Cake

10:04 AM Posted In , , , , , , , , , Edit This 0 Comments »
Guys - this was SOOOO good. I used farm fresh carrots AND eggs that we had just gotten the day before. The munchkin helped me make the cake. It's a bit time consuming and the ingredient list is long. First you make the cake, then you make an amazing buttermilk glaze (which I used just yesterday to top some vanilla bean ice cream - nom nom nom) and THEN you frost it with the cream cheese frosting. And for added goodness I covered the outside in crushed walnuts (mostly because I forgot to add them to the cake, itself).


ingredients minus the carrots that needed to be shredded
Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated carrots
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 (3 1/2 ounce) can flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans
Buttermilk glaze
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter or 1/2 cup margarine
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


Deluxe cream cheese frosting

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (room temp)
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese (room temp)
3/4 cup butter (room temp)
1 (16 ounce) package powdered sugar, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract




Directions:


 Cake
 Grease three 8 or 9-inch round cake pans and line with parchment paper.
 Stir together first 4 ingredients in a medium sized bowl.
 In your mixing bowl, beat eggs and next 4 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.
 Add flour mixture, beating at low speed until blended.
 Fold in carrot and next 3 ingredients.
 Pour batter into prepared pans.
 Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
momma's little helper
cooling cakes

Buttermilk Glaze
Bring first 5 ingredients to a boil in a medium to large saucepan.
Boil 4 minutes, stirring constantly until glaze is golden.
Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla and cool slightly.
Drizzle warm buttermilk glaze evenly over warm cake layers; cool in pans on wire racks for 15 minutes.
Remove from pans, inverting layers. Peel parchment; invert again, glaze side up.
Cool completely on wire racks.
stirring the buttermilk glaze

Deluxe Cream Cheese Frosting
Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.
Gradually add powdered sugar, beating at low speed until light and fluffy.
Stir in vanilla.
Frost with Deluxe Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top of sides of cake.




walnut decor

nom nom nom

Cherry-Berries On A Cloud

6:56 AM Posted In , , , , , , , , , Edit This 0 Comments »
We're having a barbecue picnic today out at the falls with a few work friends of my wife and I, of course, got slated with the dessert. Since it is going to be 90 degrees today and it is already 70 something and we don't have central air....I decided to make something cold. I made this dessert for the first time last summer. It is sooo delicious. I made one little change when making it this time...I added about a teaspoon of cherry brandy to the cream cheese when beating it. Just to give it a little spring *KICK* in the taste buds!! I also made a second topping with raspberries, cherries, and peaches because my loverly wife is allergic to strawberries.

MAKE THIS TODAY!!! It's totally worth your time. And you don't really have to let it set for 8 hours---but I would definitely let it set for four.

**PASTRY CRUST** (do this part first)

1 1/2 C AP Flour
1 C Margarine, softened
1/2 C powdered sugar

Preheat overn to 400
Beat all ingredients on low for 1 minute, fully incorporating ingredients.
Increase speed to medium and beat 2 minutes or until creamy (and pillowlike)
Spread into ungreased rectangular pan, 13*9*2.
Bake 12-15 minutes or until edges are golden brown.
Cool completely. (Place in freezer for 10-15 min for quick cooling)

**CLOUD**

1 package cream cheese (8 oz), softened
3/4 c sugar
1 t vanilla

2 c heavy whipping cream

2 1/2 c minature marshmallows

1 can cherry pie filling (20 oz)
1 t lemon juice
1 pint (16 oz) of fresh or frozen sliced strawberries (if using frozen - thawed)
1 c fresh or frozen sliced peaches

Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla in large bowl with electric mixer on med until smooth.
Beat whipping cream in chilled bowl with electric mixer on high until stiff.
Fold whiipped cream and marshmallows into cream cheese mixture.
Spread over pastry crust.
Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours (to set) but no more than 48.

Mix pie filling, lemon juice, strawberries, and peaches. 
Cut dessert into serving size pieces.
Serve with fruit mixture.
Cover and refrigerate and leftovers.

Vegan Chocolate Raspberry Cake

8:32 AM Posted In , , , Edit This 0 Comments »



Chocolate Raspberry Cake

Vegan and Gluten Free
Ingredients:
  • 2 cups vegan granulated sugar
  • 6 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2/3 cup olive oil
  • 2 cups non-dairy milk
  • 4 tbsp vinegar
  • 2 cups sorghum flour
  • 1/2 cup white rice flour
  • 1/2 cup cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup cocoa powder
  • 2 tsp xanthan gum
Filling & Topping :
  • 1 cup fresh raspberries
  • about 3 tbsp raspberry preserves
Directions:
Grease and flour two 8" cake pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix sugar, baking powder, salt, and olive oil in a large electric mixing bowl.
In a separate smaller bowl, combine sorghum flour, white rice flour, cornstarch, cocoa powder and xanthan gum. Mix together well.
Add to sugar mixture about 1 cup flour mixture and about 1/2 cup non-dairy milk. Repeat until all flour and all milk has been used. Once batter is thick and well blended, add vinegar, 1 tbsp at a time. Mix for about one minute on medium speed.
Pour half of the batter into one cake pan and the other half of the batter into the other cake pan.  Using a flat plastic spatula smooth out top of cake batter to fill pan and create an even surface on top. As you can tell, I did not do that with the first cake and I suffered the consequences. This is not like regular cake batter that will settle in. This is thicker and thus needs the shaping!!!
Bake for about 20-25 minutes in oven, or until knife inserted into middle of one of the cakes comes out clean. Keep your eye on it and be careful not to bake TOO long. 
Let cakes cool in pan on wire racks for 10 minutes before flipping out onto flat plate.
To make jam filling and topping:
Mix together about 1 cup raspberries and about 3 tbsp raspberry preserves. Smash until thick and well blended. Poke holes in top of first layer to absorb the raspberry. Spread filling on top of one cake layer. Poke holes in top of second cake to absorb the flavor and invert onto top of first cake. 

Pour remaining raspberry preserve mixture across top of cake and allow to drizzle down. You may need to make more raspberry mixture.

Place raspberries on top just to add some pretty. :)

*Note: I think that I will make some coconut whipped "cream" and fold the raspberry preserves into it and then cover the cake in that just to add a touch of sweetness to it.
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