Cakes to Celebrate

Carrot Cake  (Serves SO MANY people - more than 12)

•  Praline Cream Filling (make day before)
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1/4 cup AP flour
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
  • 6 oz unsalted butter
  • 1 1/4 cups chopped pecans
  • 2 tsp vanilla

Combine first three ingredients in saucepan and whisk together.  Whisk in the cream then add the butter cut into chunks.  Cook over low heat, stirring almost constantly, until the mixture has become light brown.  Cool for 30 minutes, then add nuts and vanilla.  Refrigerate until used.

• Carrot Cake
  • 1 1/4 cups canola oil
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 cups AP flour
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • 1 pound carrots, grated (if using packaged, shredded carrots, chop additionally until small bits)
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 cup golden raisins

Bring the oven to 350 degrees while preparing cake.  Grease and flour a tube pan (10 inches as for angel food cake).  You mak line the bottom with waxed paper and grease that also (raisins can stick although I have had great results with Wilton Cake Greasing stuff).  In a big bowl, mix corn oil and sugar.  Separately, whisk the flour and next 4 ingredients.  Add dry ingredients alternately with eggs until well mixed.  Add carrots, nuts and raisins.  Pour into pan and ensure batter is level across top and not thicker in center.  Bake about 70 minutes or until cake tester emerges clean.  (Start checking after 1 hour).  Cool in pan for half hour then remove to cake plate.

•  Cream Cheese Frosting
  • 2 sticks butter, soft (unsalted always)
  • 8 oz cream cheese, soft
  • 1 lb of confectioners sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla

Beat butter and cream cheese then beat in sugar.  When combined and fluffy, add vanilla.

• Cake Assembly

Using a long serrated knife, cut the cake into three layers, widthwise.  Proceed slowly to saw through creating three equally thick slices.  Place the top two layers aside.  Spread a thick layer of filling over the cut side of the first layer (yes, after you eat the tasty crumbs that fell in the center of the cake!).  Top with second layer and cover the cut side with filling again.  You may have extra filling.  Top with third layer and frost your cake!

How to garnish such as masterpiece?  If you are an icing piper, you may make little carrots (I am not a piper).  You may toast coconut and cover the sides with it (looks great).  Or you may just make great creamy swirls which look terrific especially with candles blazing atop!

Keep this baby in the fridge when you aren’t snitching a bit.

Red Velvet Cake with Whipped Buttercream Icing 

Important:  Keep the cake in the refrigerator if you use the Cream Cheese frosting recipe.  Either version is best the day after baking. 

For the cake: This cake is lighter than some more recent version with 6 eggs, etc!

• 2 1/2 cups AP flour, sifted before measuring
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp. soda
• 1 tsp. cocoa
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cups oil (I use canola)
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 - 1 oz red food coloring
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease three 9 inch round pans and line bottoms with waxed paper (I grease this too - I am terrified of sticking).  Sift dry ingredients.  Combine buttermilk, oil, vinegar and eggs and add to dry ingredients just until blended. Stir in food coloring and vanilla and bake until tester inserted comes out clean or center springs back to touch, about 25 minutes. Cool in pans for 5 minutes then turn out onto racks to cool.

For the frosting:  Note that this frosting is not a cream cheese frosting and is lighter and distinctive to the cake.

• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup AP flour
• 1 cup butter at room temp
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

Cook together the flour and milk until smooth and thick.  Place in refrigerator until cool. (You may do this while cake is baking) Beat the butter and sugar with vanilla until creamy.  Add cooled milk custard just until combined.  Frost layers then sides and top of cake.

Or if you are dying for cream cheese frosting use this:

• 1 sticks butter at room temp
• 8 oz cream cheese at room temp
• 1 lb confectioners sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Beat together butter and cream cheese until fluffy.  Add sugar gradually then vanilla. Frost between layers, then sides and finally top of cake.

Some recipes use two sticks of butter which is quite wonderful but really….Anyway, if you like a thick frosting on your cake, add more sugar as well with the butter and increase the vanilla a bit.

Finally, you may garnish the how business with chopped nuts on sides or candies appropriate to holiday.