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Sunday, April 09, 2006

Mom's birthday - the finale

The birthday cake was a no brainer. It had to be carrot cake and it had to be the carrot cake I've been making her for the past 5 years or so. This cake is so incredibly moist and flavorful. If you are a lover of carrot cake, then this recipe is a must have!

*Disclaimer: Do not, by any means, judge this recipe from my crap cam pictures or my sorry excuse for a frosting "technique". It seems that with every year, I manage to get even more crumbs in my frosting than the year before. har!


crumb city!

The Best Carrot Cake You'll Ever Have


6 cups grated carrots
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. raisins
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. white sugar
1 c. vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. crushed pineapple, drained
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

In a medium bowl, combine grated carrots and brown sugar. Set aside for 60 minutes, then stir in raisins.

Preheat oven to 350ยบ F. Grease and flour two 10 inch cake pans.

In a large bowl, beat eggs until light. Gradually beat in the white sugar, oil and vanilla. Stir in the pineapple. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, stir into the wet mixture until absorbed. Frinally stir in the carrot mixture and the walnuts. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.

Bake 45 to 50 minutes in the preheated oven, until cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. When completely cooled, frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. butter, softened
2 c. sifted confectioner's sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioner's sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.


carrotslice

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Comments on "Mom's birthday - the finale"

 

Blogger Joe said ... (4/09/2006 10:43 PM) : 

I think you did an awesome job! I have not had a carrot cake in so long...

One tip on the crumbs - you could do a "crumb coat" - do a very thin coat of icing and then let it sit for a few minutes. This will keep all of the crumbs in one place before you finish with the rest of the icing.

 

Blogger Lis said ... (4/10/2006 6:17 AM) : 

Thanks Joe! You know, when I put my first layer on the sides I thought about all the times I've seen professionals talk about a "crumb coat" - but I did not know that you let it sit for a few minutes for the crumbs to set! So I immediately put on my second layer.. there's my screwup? Thanks so much for the tip! I will DEFINITELY wait before adding the rest of my frosting next time =)

 

Blogger Ziz said ... (4/10/2006 5:50 PM) : 

Yeah for my wedding cake a crumb coat seemed to work pretty good. It was still a bitch and a half to do though. hehe :)

 

Blogger Lis said ... (4/10/2006 9:16 PM) : 

Gawd your wedding cake was gorgeous.. I couldn't even imagine frosting a cake to come out like that even if I did get the crumb coat down pat lol

 

Blogger Skeezix said ... (4/10/2006 10:54 PM) : 

Oh wow! That cake looks moist and delicious. Carrot cake is my favorite cake in all the land.

I do prefer a more savory frosting so I always nix some of the sugar from the frosting recipe.

I'm going to have to give this a try for the Easter Weekend.

Lastly, I love the design of your blog. It is fantastic.

 

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