Oh Birthday Cake, My Carrot Cake
We celebrated Jeffrey and my brother’s birthdays yesterday. Yes, they share the same birthday…but many, MANY years apart. I remember sitting on the couch dreading each new contraction while my family celebrated my brother’s birthday chomping on big juicy rib-eye steaks off the grill. The meal was cut short when I “exclaimed” through gritted teeth, “I think I need to go to the hospital, YOU (referring to my brother) will have to take your birthday cake home.” That was twenty-two years ago. Wow, time flies.
24 Carrot Gold Recipe
The tradition of celebrating every birthday with Wes’s delicious carrot cake would not exist if not for a college girlfriend (his roommate’s), a classmate’s birthday, and a bag of carrots. After finding a lone bag of carrots in their fridge, John’s girlfriend decided to bake a carrot cake for their classmate’s birthday. Thus began the love affair between Wes and Carrot Cake (tough competition for me, lol). He can’t recall the girlfriend’s name or the classmate’s whose birthday they celebrated. But luckily he asked her for the recipe and the rest is, as they say, history.
Over the years he has modified it to his liking. Out went the nuts and shredded coconut, and in went raisins. He doubled the luscious cream cheese frosting, because everyone knows you can never have too much frosting. He also cut the sugar to temper the sweetness. This is a classic American cake; spicy, moist, sweet, peppered with pineapple and raisins, and finished with a buttery sweet cream cheese frosting. YUM.
One Bowl Babee
That’s how simple and easy this cake is, you can make it in one bowl and a spoon or whisk. Wes pulls out an old tattered goldenrod Tupperware bowl (yes goldenrod, circa 1987), a whisk, and a grater when he makes his signature cake. That’s it. Grate the carrots on the small holes of the grater. He likes a denser cake and often throws the pineapple in without draining. I have convinced him to drain the pineapple for a lighter, less dense cake. Bake the cake in a 9×13 rectangular cake, or 2-9×2-inch circular pans, or even a muffin tin for cupcakes. Throw in some nuts if you like (Wes never does), walnuts are usually the nut of choice.
Frost, Frost Baby
Tips for the cream cheese frosting: Start with slightly softened butter but not warm, whip the butter first, add the cream cheese and continue to whip the two until light and creamy before adding the sugar. Once the sugar is added, beat just long enough to fully incorporate the sugar, and then STOP. Overbeating after adding the powdered sugar will cause the frosting to lose its structure.
I crossed out the above section just to show that baking and cooking is not static. You’re always tweaking, or changing something in hopes of making it better. I have revised how to make Cream Cheese Frosting. I love Zoe Bakes, and her carrot cake episode has step-by-step instructions for making Cream Cheese Frosting. The frosting comes out smooth, luscious, and creamy. This prompted me to give my favorite frosting its own post.
So there you have it, hubby’s two, no, now four, favorite recipes, Good Cookies, Carrot Cake, Foil wrapped Chicken (coming), and his famous Super Bowl Tuna Dip. I’m not jealous, credit is like community property in California, I get half the credit, right? In fact…
I think I will have a slice of cake right now.
Happy Birthday, Anson and Jeffrey!
Birthday Cake, Carrot Cake
Ingredients
Cake
Dry Ingredients:
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
Wet Ingredients Part 1
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups granulated sugar
Wet Ingredients Part 2
- 3/4 cup low fat buttermilk
- 2 cups grated carrots use small holes of grater
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 8 oz. Can Crushed pineapple in pineapple juice See notes
- 1 cup Regular raisins Can sub golden raisins if you like.
Frosting:
- 1 stick salted butter 4oz
- 1 8-ounce brick of cream cheese
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar sifted
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350. Rack should be in center of oven
- Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan.
- Combine the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Beat oil, eggs and sugar together in a large bowl
- Add the dry ingredients to the oil-egg mixture along with the rest of the ingredients (wet ingredients part 2) and stir with a whisk until well mixed.
- Pour into pan and bake for 45-50 minutes.
- Bake for 60 minutes if using the 10 inch round cake pan.
- Bake for 25 minutes if making cupcakes.
- Cake is done when the top is a rich golden brown, a tester should come out with just a few crumbs and relatively clean.
Frosting:
- Using a mixer, on medium speed beat butter until softened and slightly creamy.
- Add cream cheese and vanilla, beat until well incorporated and mixture is light and creamy
- Sift sugar over mixture and mix until combined and to desired consistency. Don't overbeat!
- Use 1-1/2 recipe of frosting for 9x13 cake out of pan, single layer or cupcakes
- For two layer cake double frosting recipe
Notes
Update!
The first of the 3jamigos got married in April of 2024! Her request was for “Daddy” to make her wedding cake. It turned out beautifully
