Orange Blossom Buttercream

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Thank-you!

~Carrot Cake~

I made this cake last Easter and had people asking for the recipe! It is the best carrot cake I've ever had and I thought it was about time I shared the recipe!

Queen Anne's Cake
from "A World of Cake" by Krystina Castella
The original recipe also has 1 20-oz can of crushed pineapple and 3/4 cup golden raisins, which I omitted when I made this cake, but you can add them at the same time as the carrots if you wish!

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
5 eggs
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups corn oil
2 1/2 cups finely grated carrots
1 1/4 cups chopped walnuts

2 cups cream cheese frosting
(recipe follows)


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour 2 8-inch fluted, round cake pans.

 Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate medium bowl, beat the eggs, granulated sugar and brown sugar until thick, about 2 minutes, then stir in the vanilla. Slowly mix the oil until blended. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture, stirring until blended. Stir in the carrots and walnuts and mix until evenly distributed.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan and set on a rack to finish cooling.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 (8 oz) package of cream cheese
6 tbs (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups confectioner's or "powdered" sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Makes about 4 cups

Cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Slowly sift in the confectioner's sugar, and continue beating until all the lumps are gone. Add the vanilla and mix until fully blended and smooth.

Be sure to share this cake with your friends, they will thank you for it! ( :
Find a link to the cookbook in my book section here.

Max's Birthday-April 15th The Beagle Cake

Max loves See's candy, so for his birthday, I made a cake with layers of butterchew (brown sugar buttercream), butterscotch (butterscotch buttercream) and milk chocolate frostings. The whole cake is covered in chocolate sprinkles, which is the hallmark of See's Bordeaux, whenever you are trying to find one in the box. The cake is topped with brownies.

I can't give you the full recipe for this cake, because it's top secret! :P But I can give you the recipe for indisputably the BEST part of the cake: the brown sugar buttercream. You will want to eat it with a spoon!

Brown Sugar Buttercream
From How to Cook Like Your Grandmother

1 cup milk
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1½ cup brown sugar
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon salt (if you use unsalted butter)

Stir the milk and flour together and mix over medium heat for 5-10 minutes, until it thickens. It changes suddenly, so don’t walk away from it.Set the milk aside to cool, and combine the sugar, butter and vanilla in a mixer.Beat on medium speed for 5-10 minutes — colder butter will take longer — until the sugar is dissolved and you don’t taste the graininess of it any more.Add the milk mixture to the butter mixture and stir until smooth.The finished texture is light and fluffy.

http://cooklikeyourgrandmother.com/2009/07/how-to-make-brown-sugar-buttercream-frosting/

The Months of January and February

I took a fantastic vegetarian cooking class this month.

I also had a chance to try out cakespy's sweet benedict.

To check out the original recipe, go to: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/03/cakespy-cadbury-creme-eggs-benedict-dessert-breakfast-recipe.html