Brittany's PantryThe BEST Carrot Cake EVER!!
Brittany wrote this on 16 December 2011
carrots, cream cheese, orange, raisins, walnuts
In the interest of mixing up the sweet and savory recipes from my Christmas dinner menu, I will save the potato gratin recipe for the next post. So we are jumping ahead to dessert for today, and ooooooh MAN! What a dessert it is! Maybe not exactly the kind of holiday dessert that first comes to mind, but when you have trays of cookies and fudge and candy, something spicy and classic is absolutely perfect. I should tell you that the pictures here don’t nearly do it justice. It turns out that the bright color of the cake was difficult to photograph and my light kept changing. Please know that no matter how good this cake might look, it is ten times better in person.
I seriously don’t even know where to start with this cake. Do I tell that it is thick and moist and has the best texture? Will it help you out if I say the blend of spice is perfectly balanced with the sweetness? Should I mention that the frosting is so good you will want to just fill a bowl with it, grab a spoon, and then sit in the closet so no one will find you and want to eat it too? All these are good points but what I really wish I could do is just hand you all a piece. Not being able to physically share food with you is one of the major drawbacks to blogging. This would just be sooo much easier if I could just hand you a plate with a little sliver of cake and then you would eat it and then your eyes would pop out of your head and I would say, “See?” and you would be like “Wow! Yeah! I totally get it now!” and I would smile and be all, like “I told you!” and you would be like “OK enough already. Can I have another piece?” I am pretty sure that is how it would go…
It is actually my husband that is such a fan of carrot cake and several years ago, I started trying different recipes-because wow, do they vary when it comes to carrot cake-trying to find a really great one that would become our only recipe. The addition or subtraction of nuts, raisins, coconut etc, is easily enough to swap and experiment with, but it was the balance of spice and sweetness and texture that I couldn’t quite get right. This cake ended my searching. I am told by some (I mean you , Mom) that the absence of crushed pineapple is its only flaw. I personally don’t mind if my carrot cake has it or not, so I don’t miss it here. But just in case you believe that carrot cake cannot be made without pineapple, I am sorry to disappoint. That minor adjustment aside, I think you will be happy with it. And even though cakes can be temperamental sometimes, this one has turned out the same every single time I make it. I consider it very reliable, making it perfect to serve around the holidays when you don’t want to experiment with something fussy. It will feed quite a crowd and simply decorated would be stunning at an open house.
The recipe comes from Zoe Francois, a pastry chef/blogger/cookbook author from my home state of Minnesota! If you want to really impress people, or just develop your skills, she posts video tutorials on how to frost cakes and other dessert related skills. Very helpful. You can check out her fantastic blog here. I took advantage of her expertise and trusted her judgement when she said this was the ultimate carrot cake. She was right. Make this cake once and you will toss all your old recipes. It really is the ultimate.
One Year Ago: Hot Chocolate #1
The Best Carrot Cake Ever
Slightly Adapted From Zoe Bakes
If you want to get a jump on things, you can bake the cake layers ahead of time, cool completely, wrap well, and freeze for up to one month. Just defrost and then frost. 🙂 Feel free to bake this batter up as cupcakes. That would be awesome for a birthday party or display for the holidays. It would also be nice on a Saturday…
Cake:
4 eggs, room temp if possible
1 1/4 c sugar
1 c brown sugar
1 1/4 c canola oil
2 tsp vanilla
zest of 1 orange
2 1/4 c flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
healthy pinch of salt
1 lb carrots, trimmed, peeled, and grated
1 c walnuts, chopped
1 c raisins
Frosting:
3 blocks (24 oz) cream cheese, softened
8 oz (2 sticks) softened, unsalted butter
2 tsp vanilla
zest of one orange
5 c powdered sugar
For the cake, mix the first six ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Fold in the carrots, walnuts, and raisins by hand. Divide the batter evenly between two 9 inch round cake pans that have been greased and floured very well. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then carefully turn out onto cooling racks and let cool completely. Frost cake.
For the frosting, mix all ingredients together, except sugar, until smooth and mixed well. Add sugar and mix thoroughly. This will give you PLENTY of frosting so don’t be skimpy! Leftover frosting can be frozen until needed for something else!
Fillet of Beef & Christmas Dinner
Brittany wrote this on 14 December 2011 beef
Mmmm. Christmas dinner….
I was a bit alarmed when I looked at the calendar this morning and realized that there are only ten days until Christmas. Not because I have shopping to do or my schedule is stressful, but because I make myself wait every year to do the typical holiday stuff. Things like listening to Christmas music, making cookies, and drinking large amounts of peppermint hot chocolate. I don’t even like to wrap my presents until just a few days before Christmas because I want the excitement and anticipation to build. When I saw the date today I thought to myself, This is really going fast! Have I really taken advantage of the season? Have I made this time of year special enough for my family that they will remember the magic and wonder of this time? Do they understand the importance of the holiday season? The giving, the love, the selflessness, and most importantly, the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ? I hope so. I want them to think of the holidays as a time for family and traditions.
My parents didn’t approach the holidays with a big focus on tradition. Inadvertently though, they absolutely stuck to them. With such a large family, we rarely did much in the way of outings or excursions, and I think that the special things we did do were less because of tradition and more because it was just easier to keep doing things the same way. But many of them stuck, making me even more aware of how much I want the same for my kids. Not necessarily the exact same traditions, but events or activities that they can get excited about and count on every year. This has become harder than I thought, married to a man that rarely gets any national holiday off and who has a schedule that changes every week. One year, we celebrated Christmas the afternoon of the 24th. The next year it was on Christmas Day, but not until that night. It varies, depending on his schedule and part of me kind of likes the uncertainty. We are all safe, happy, and most importantly, he is here. His years on a nuclear submarine taught me that. Be grateful he is here. And I am. No matter when we celebrate it, our little family of four (almost five!) will be together. That is easily the best part of the holiday season.
Being who I am, I would be dishonest if I didn’t say that any tradition or activity this time of year has me thinking about food. And no, this is not the pregnancy talking. Believe it or not, I am usually so sick during my pregnancies that food is kind of an enemy for me till after the birth. The cravings, endless baking and cooking of foods, and desperate drives across town for the food I need most- all that comes the rest of the time when I am normal. This has caused my husband no small measure of grief, I am sure.
In regards to Christmas, we have had to kind of figure out our meal celebrations. The only thing we have settled on as a tradition really, is meat. *sigh* Just the word makes me happy. Beef in particular. What accompanies the beef varies, but this year, this is what will be on our table:
Roast Fillet of Beef
Potato Gratin
Green Salad W/Quick Vinaigrette
Butter Rolls
The Best Carrot Cake In The World
The beef is what I am sharing with you today, but please don’t be intimidated. I know so many people who never-as in never-make any large piece of meat. No roast chicken or turkey, no roast beef, no hams, and no pork roasts! I often hear my friends say that they just don’t know what to do with them. How long do you cook it? How do you know when it is done? Well, behold! The following is the easiest recipe you will ever find for one of the best cuts of meat that exists. It feeds a crowd, takes less than an hour, and only has a few ingredients. It is virtually fool proof! Several years ago I consolidated all my recipes for this kind of dish and this is what came out on top. It is now the only method I ever use. It never fails. It is expensive to make, yes, but I am not saying you should make this just any day of the week. This is a special occasion dish. A holiday dish that your family will definitely remember. And just the thing if you are looking for a new Christmas tradition.
One Year Ago: Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake Muffins
Fillet Of Beef
Recipe from Ina Garten
Serve it with bleu cheese and it just may render you speechless.
1 whole beef fillet (about 5 pounds) trimmed and tied
softened butter
salt and pepper
Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Yes, it may smoke a bit if there is anything spilled on the bottom, but just let it go for awhile. Place your beef on a foil lined sheet pan, smear all over with butter and sprinkle all over with salt and pepper. That is it! Roast in the oven for exactly 25 minutes, remove, tent with foil and let rest for another 15 to 20 minutes. This will put your fillet at medium rare. If you go longer than that to get your meat more done, don’t go past 30 minutes. If you are a well done or at least ‘cooked through’ kind of beef person, make something else. This cut is too special and too expensive to ruin it with over cooking! Remove the strings (duh) and slice into 1/2 inch slices and serve. Seriously, this is ‘roll your socks up and down’ amazing.
I have been saving this recipe for you!
More specifically, I have been saving it for this time of year. The time of year when shopping, card labeling, entertaining, visiting, wrapping, traveling, and cookie baking stress people out and fill up our already jam packed schedules. At the same time, every commercial, magazine, newspaper, cocktail party, and holiday open house (yes…blogs too*see previous post) are providing the opportunity, or at least the resources, to indulge in food that is rich and sweet. And usually contains lots of butter.
As a general rule, I am not opposed to this. I am of the firm belief that if you want to eat half of the cookie tray your neighbor dropped off last weekend, far be it for me to judge you. Or stop you! Two or three glasses of egg nog? Why not. Half a bag of bite sized Milky Ways? Absolutely. However, should you do this everyday? Not so much. This is why I have no guilt when it comes to food. I never-and I am not saying that this is necessarily a good thing-deprive myself of any food that I want. Wait….umm…nope. Never. Thankfully, my parents raised me in a generally healthy manner and that has stuck with me. So I crave salads and homemade wheat bread even more than I crave fettuccine alfredo. Eighty percent of what I eat could be considered ‘healthy’, so I don’t think about the other stuff too much.
This is one of those dishes that falls into the ‘healthy’ category, but all I think about is how good it is. Yes it is low in calories, high in fiber and protein, and can be made in thirty minutes, but it also just tastes great. Kind of a no brainer, huh? Now do you see why I saved it for the holiday season? You can make this for your family or just for yourself in a half hour and it is a pleasant reprieve from the normal December fare. And dare I say, it tastes a bit like summer. No one you serve it to will ever know (or care) that is is good for them. My family eats this year round and I like to work it into my weekly menu plan when I know I will be out of the house until just before it is time to eat. It also reheats wonderfully, so you can make it ahead if you want. I should let you know that this is not your average barbecue sauce. It is wonderfully tangy and light, making it a welcome change from the heavy, and sometimes overpowering bottled stuff. No extra, unpronounceable ingredients here! And remember. No judgement from me if you follow it up with a Christmas cookie.
One Year Ago: Chewy Ginger Cookies
BBQ Chicken Sandwiches W/ Coleslaw
Recipe adapted from Ellie Krieger
This recipe uses a purchased rotisserie chicken for speed and convenience, but feel free to use an equal amount of any kind of chicken or turkey you have on hand. Remember to purchase the ‘plain’ roasted chicken as it usually has less salt and flavoring. Also, keep in mind that the addition of slices of bell pepper would be awesome in here.
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced fine
1 can (14 oz) crushed tomatoes, low sodium if possible
1/2 c water
1/3 c apple cider vinegar
1/3 c molasses
1/4 c tomato paste
black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp liquid smoke or smoked paprika, recommended but optional
1 whole rotisserie chicken, skin and bones discarded and meat torn into bite sized pieces or, 3-4 c cooked chicken or turkey
hamburger buns or dollar buns, preferably whole wheat
Coleslaw (recipe below)
In a bit of olive or canola oil, saute the onion and garlic over medium heat just until soft. Add the next 7 ingredients and reduce heat to low, letting the sauce simmer and thicken, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. If you haven’t already, now is the time to remove the chicken from the bones! Add in the meat, stirring gently, and let heat over low heat, stirring now and then, until all the flavors are developed and it is hot all the way through. Serve on buns.
Note: It drives me crazy when a recipe calls for only part of a can of something, such as here when you don’t use the entire can of tomato paste. So what I do is put the leftovers in a small, resealable freezer bag, squeeze out the air and then squish it kinda flat. Toss it in your freezer! When I just need a tablespoon or so for a recipe, I just break or whack (with my knife) off a hunk and add it to whatever I am cooking. I just keep adding and removing it from that same bag and it never goes bad.
Quick Coleslaw
This is not the best version of coleslaw by any means. It is however great with these sandwiches, extremely healthy, super quick, and a little addictive. I like it on the side but my husband and kids like it piled on top of the meat in the sandwich. You choose.
1/2 c plain, nonfat yogurt
1/4 c mayo (I use canola mayo)
1/4 c apple cider vinegar
1 generous T of honey
pinch of salt and pepper
2 tsp caraway seed, optional
1-1 pound bag of coleslaw mix (this will make your life so much easier) or 1/2 of a small green cabbage, shredded and 3 large carrots, peeled and grated
Mix all dressing ingredients together until incorporated. Add in the vegetables and toss to coat.
Love a Good Recipe?
Then you’ve come to the right place! I’m Brittany, and I share tested, trusted recipes you’ll love. I prepare & photograph food, obsess over the perfect recipe, and enjoy grins of delight when I serve up something awesome. Enjoy!
