Carrot Cake

Yummy carrot cake! (I promise we didn't already polish off the zucchini bread on our own. We froze half of each loaf and now we are in desperate need of cake!) The recipe I love for carrot cake is from the March/April 2003 issue of Cook's Illustrated. They recommend adding nuts (walnuts or pecans) and raisins. I only had walnuts, so I added about 1C of chopped nuts when I added the carrots.

Preheat the oven to 350 and prepare a 13 by 9 inch pan.

Butter or spray the pan and then put parchment paper on the bottom of the pan and spray the paper.

In a bowl mix together 2 1/2C flour, 1 1/4t baking powder, 1t baking soda, 1 1/4t cinnamon, 1/2t ground nutmeg, 1/8t ground cloves, and 1/2t salt.

Meanwhile, grate 1 lb. carrots (about 6-7 large carrots). (Go

ahead and use a food processor because you are going to keep using it for the batter and the frosting.)

In a food processor, mix 1 1/2C sugar, 1/2C brown sugar, and 4 eggs. Process this for about 20 seconds until frothy and completely combined. With the machine running, add 1 1/2C oil (safflower, canola, or vegetable) in a steady stream. Process until the mixture is light and the oil is fully emulsified. Pour this batter into a large bowl. Mix in carrots and nuts and raisins (if you want).

Mix in dry ingredients about 1/3 at a time and stir until fully combined. Pour this into the prepared cake pan and bake for 35-40 minutes (longer if you add nuts and/or raisins). Rotate the cake half-way through.

Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the pan on a rack for 2 hours. Remove cake from pan and frost when fully cooled.

For the frosting, allow 8 0z. of cream cheese and 5T of butter to soften but not fully warm to room temperature. Process the cheese and butter with 1T sour cream and 1/2t vanilla for about 5 seconds. Add 1 1/4C powdered sugar (I only used 1C) to the frosting mix and process for an additional 10 seconds. Spread this evenly across the cake! I like to the chill the cake before eating.

Blueberry and Apricot Buttermilk Cake

On Sunday night after chicken sandwiches, squash and tabouli we ate cake. Earlier in the monthI posted about a cake I made with black raspberries that was supposed to be made with blueberries.

Last week I bought blueberries to add to the currant jam and I had nearly a quart of local blueberries left. But in our farm share this week we got apricots and I couldn't decide between a blueberry cake and an apricot cobbler or pie. The compromise was a blueberry AND apricot cake. I used the recipe for blueberry boy bait from smitten kitchen. I used about 1C blueberries total, as the recipe calls for, with 1/2C in the batter and 1/2C as a topping. I also used 3 apricots. I blanched them to take off the skins and the two ripest ones nearly turned to mush. I added those two to the batter and I used the one that kept its structure in the topping. The result was that the cake batter was lightly flavored with the apricots I added in and the chunks were still discernible in the topping. And as before, I used buttermilk rather than regular milk. Overall, it was a hit. As you can see we only have 3 pieces left!

Pork, Salad, and Cake!

For dinner the other night I made a pork tenderloin. I was inspired by a recipe for pork with an orange marmalade glaze. I more or less followed the recipe with approximately 1/3C soy sauce, 1/3C honey, 1/3C orange marmalade, hot pepper flakes, and black pepper. I let this simmer for about 10 minutes on the stove, let it cool to room temperature, and then let the pork sit in about 1/2 the mixture for about 30 minutes in the fridge. The recipe calls for at least an hour marinade, but I didn't have time. I cooked the tenderloin, covered with foil, at 350 for about 30-35 minutes. After about 20 minutes, I flipped it over once and spooned on the rest of the sauce. I took it out of the oven when it reached nearly 160 degrees, figuring it would keep cooking for a few minutes.On the side I had a green salad made with a fresh head of green lettuce from our farm share. I added green pepper, red onions, and some sliced carrots. I made a quick salsa buttermilk salad dressing. I got the idea from a local restaurant that serves a salsa buttermilk dressing on their taco salad that I absolutely love. I haven't quite matched what they create, but I have gotten close with a combination of salsa, buttermilk, and sour cream. Sometimes I also add some lime juice and chopped cilantro. For the salsa, I usually use the jar of salsa we always have in our fridge: Herdez medium (sometimes hot) salsa.And last, but definitely not least(!), I made cake.

We have a black raspberry bush in our backyard that reached its peak this week. Last year we had enough from that bush and one at my husband's shop to make a pie for 4th of July. Obviously, the weather was better last year if they were ripe a week earlier. Unfortunately, the bush at the shop was cut down so I relied on our bush and one down the street next to the bus stop.

I didn't have enough berries for a pie so I made a cake. I used the recipe for a blueberry cake from smitten kitchen. Instead of blueberries, I used black raspberries. The recipe calls for 1C of blueberries and you mix 1/2 in the batter and sprinkle 1/2 on top before cooking. I used about 1 1/2C black raspberries with 1/2 in the batter and 1/2 on top. This worked out well because the black raspberries don't expand like blueberries do so having more berries was necessary. The recipe calls for whole milk or buttermilk.

I used buttermilk (we had it around from the coleslaw and salsa buttermilk dressing) and I am so glad I did because it added a lovely tang. This is a delicious cake: moist, perfectly sweet, and rich. I am sure this cake would work well with a number of different berry combinations!