Barefoot Bloggers – Birthday Sheet Cake & Beatty’s Chocolate Cake

Welcome to chocolate overload zone!

I made these cakes on the same day during my Ramadan blogging hiatus. The making of both is somewhat of a blur (which you are no doubt thankful for). I was so geared up to make these, especially the sheet cake because who wouldn’t want a humongous chocolate cake with fudgy icing (well, except Kayte). See, in my mind, I had turned this into a chocolate sheet cake and was euphoric about the Barefoot Bloggers selections for September. Two cakes! Both chocolate! That is, until I realized this wasn’t a chocolate cake at all. Ultimate bummer.

We aren’t huge fans of white or yellow cake, so I doctored the cake batter with a healthy dose of Vietnamese cinnamon. The end result was a subtly cinnamon cake with chocolate icing that was delicious. It’s a very sturdy cake, not a tender crumb but perfect for a child’s birthday party. Since there were no available children having birthdays, I took this to the mosque to serve after iftar (the meal we have after breaking our fast in the evening) and it was very popular.

But Beatty’s chocolate cake was a transcendent chocolate experience. I pulled out all the stops and used the “good” chocolate as Ina always suggests. It was moist, and oh the frosting, the frosting, the frosting. I iced the cake in record time (hence the awful appearance and specks of butter, which melted right in and didn’t affect the texture or flavor) before I had to leave for the evening, and left the kitchen looking like it had been used for a kindergarten cooking class. Since I was fasting when I made and iced the cake, I didn’t taste any of it until I got home around midnight. Oh my. I licked the offset spatula, mixing bowl, paddle from the mixer and the plate on which I set the paddle. Too much information? Sorry. So much for losing weight during Ramadan.

This cake is The One. My new go-to chocolate cake recipe. As in go to this website and get the recipe. Make it tonight or this weekend. Just don’t deprive yourself (or the chocolate lover in your life) of it any longer than the weekend. I told M. I was making it for his birthday (which was last month, but he was on a business trip), and then I ate more of it than he did.

If you’d like to check out what the other Barefoot Bloggers did, you can find them all here.

TWD – Classic Banana Bundt Cake

I am living proof that sometimes, learning does not occur.

I looked at the title of this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, I thought “how dull.” I mean, I’ve made hundreds of banana breads, cakes, muffins, cupcakes, smoothies, etc. What did I really need with yet another recipe that starts with mashed extra ripe bananas?

Well, those other banana recipes weren’t Dorie’s recipes. You would think I would have learned by now that Dorie’s recipes are in a class by themselves.

I have a banana bread recipe I have made since woolly mammoths roamed the earth. It’s moist, easy and made entirely in the food processor. I’ve never shared it with you, although I have meant to.

Sharing it is now unnecessary.

Say hello to Dorie’s banana bundt cake. It may be the only banana recipe you ever need.

In the interest of fair disclosure, I have to admit I added a cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips, and I topped it with Dorie’s chocolate glaze. For some unknown reason (operator error? serendipity?), the “glaze” didn’t glaze at all. It became semi firm, and I was distraught that I had done that to my lovely cake. I brought it in to work, wrote a note of apology for the Glaze That Didn’t, and went on with my morning.

And then the accolades started rolling in. People were wowed by the cake. They loved the chewy nature of the Glaze That Didn’t. They told me not to change a thing next time. I hadn’t tasted it yet, so I grabbed a taste thinking they were being kind.

It was fantastic, and I agree completely that the chewy Glaze That Didn’t was perfect the way it was. For as many times as I’ve made banana bread, I’m very ambivalent about it. I like my bananas eaten as a piece of fruit. But this cake changed all that.

Mary of The Food Librarian picked this week’s recipe, and she scored big points here. She’ll have the recipe posted, but be sure to spend some time on her blog. I LOVE her photography and I think you will, too.

TWD – The Perfect Lemon Party Cake

It’s here! The Perfect Party Cake was finally chosen, by Carol of mix, mix…stir, stir. This is the cake that I looked at again and again in the book and thought “I could never pull off something that looked that good.”

I was right.

I made the ugly duckling of Perfect Party Cakes.

Since I cut the recipe in half, I wanted to find a suitable pan to use so I could still make four layers. I knew I wanted this to be a lemon party cake, so I opted for Dorie’s lemon cream instead of raspberry preserves. Checking out the volume of the 9″ round cake pan, I found that an 8×8 pan has the same volume. This was good news since I could cut the cake in half before dividing the halves to get 4 layers. It would make a nice loaf cake size but without the sloped sides that my loaf pans have. I was confident, enthusiastic, eager to get to baking.

I read and reread the recipe and Dorie’s post on Tuesdays with Dorie a few weeks ago. Dorie posted some tips to help us all have successful Perfect Party Cakes. I had all my ingredients at room temperature and was ready to go.

First, I made the lemon cream. It was mostly uneventful, except for the part where Dorie says to strain the curd into the jar of a blender. I must have an excellent strainer, because it didn’t let anything, curd or lemon zest, get through, so in frustration I just dumped everything in there and hoped that several minutes of blending at high speed would eliminate any traces of zest.

Later the same day, I started on the genoise. I was so excited because all of my ingredients were measured and at room temperature, and I just knew it was going to be a great baking experience. The genoise came together easily and I tucked it into the prepared 8×8 pan, smoothed the top and popped it in the oven. Since the pan was a little different shape and I didn’t want any surprises, I set the timer for 28 minutes (the recipe calls for baking it 30-35 minutes). When the timer went off, I turned on the oven light and saw it had pulled away from the sides of the pan.

Yikes! How could this thing be pulling away from the sides already?!? I yanked it out of the oven, noticing it hardly rose at all. Crushed, despondent and generally experiencing the classic stages of grief (NO! This didn’t just happen! Why me? It can’t be! This is so unfair!…), I resolved to push on and complete the blasted thing, thinking all the while “THIS is what I do to relax on a Sunday? I mean, really?” Great attitude, huh?

Poor little genoise.

Guess I didn’t smooth the batter in the pan so well after all. I set about making the buttercream, which was fairly easy, and a good upper body workout to boot. When it was finished, I looked into the bowl and wondered how on earth I would get that small amount of buttercream to fill and cover the entire cake. I retrieved the lemon cream from the fridge, whisked it like crazy to loosen it up, then sliced open my pathetic little cake.

I had plenty of the lemon cream, not so much of the buttercream, and the ridiculously tiny layers. All went well until I got to the very top layer. Dorie says to place the cut side down, and since my cake was very suntanned when I rescued it from the oven, I had a hard time covering the browning with the light buttercream. By this time, the buttercream was very soft, and every time I took a swipe at it with the offset spatula to fix one area that was showing, I took off a large swath of the frosting in that area. Argh! Finally, I surrendered to the coconut, figuring it’s a great concealer.

Immediately, I photographed my homely Imperfect Party Cake and then sat down to enjoy a slice (was it for dinner? pre-dinner? snack?) I was blown away by the wonderful combination of lemon flavors with the different layers of textures. Personally, I thought the coconut detracted from my transcendent lemon experience, so I will leave that off next time.

I had considered making this a chocolate perfect party cake, because if you’re talking about perfection and cakes, chocolate’s a requirement in my house. But I resisted and I’m glad I did because the lemon was so light and refreshing.

(I must have taken 20 photos of this slice of cake. 18 had that worm-looking thing on the bottom. Why did I not notice this when I was taking the photos??)

I know you’re wishing you could kill off a bunch of eggs and butter on a relaxing Sunday afternoon, so you should join us. We’re accepting members again, and the best thing is that you get to cook along with some mighty great bakers, from Dorie Greenspan‘s book Baking From My Home to Yours. Check out the website for more information on joining. We’d love to have you.

TWD – The Perfect Lemon Party Cake

It’s here! The Perfect Party Cake was finally chosen, by Carol of mix, mix…stir, stir. This is the cake that I looked at again and again in the book and thought “I could never pull off something that looked that good.”

I was right.

I made the ugly duckling of Perfect Party Cakes.

Since I cut the recipe in half, I wanted to find a suitable pan to use so I could still make four layers. I knew I wanted this to be a lemon party cake, so I opted for Dorie’s lemon cream instead of raspberry preserves. Checking out the volume of the 9″ round cake pan, I found that an 8×8 pan has the same volume. This was good news since I could cut the cake in half before dividing the halves to get 4 layers. It would make a nice loaf cake size but without the sloped sides that my loaf pans have. I was confident, enthusiastic, eager to get to baking.

I read and reread the recipe and Dorie’s post on Tuesdays with Dorie a few weeks ago. Dorie posted some tips to help us all have successful Perfect Party Cakes. I had all my ingredients at room temperature and was ready to go.

First, I made the lemon cream. It was mostly uneventful, except for the part where Dorie says to strain the curd into the jar of a blender. I must have an excellent strainer, because it didn’t let anything, curd or lemon zest, get through, so in frustration I just dumped everything in there and hoped that several minutes of blending at high speed would eliminate any traces of zest.

Later the same day, I started on the genoise. I was so excited because all of my ingredients were measured and at room temperature, and I just knew it was going to be a great baking experience. The genoise came together easily and I tucked it into the prepared 8×8 pan, smoothed the top and popped it in the oven. Since the pan was a little different shape and I didn’t want any surprises, I set the timer for 28 minutes (the recipe calls for baking it 30-35 minutes). When the timer went off, I turned on the oven light and saw it had pulled away from the sides of the pan.

Yikes! How could this thing be pulling away from the sides already?!? I yanked it out of the oven, noticing it hardly rose at all. Crushed, despondent and generally experiencing the classic stages of grief (NO! This didn’t just happen! Why me? It can’t be! This is so unfair!…), I resolved to push on and complete the blasted thing, thinking all the while “THIS is what I do to relax on a Sunday? I mean, really?” Great attitude, huh?

Poor little genoise.

Guess I didn’t smooth the batter in the pan so well after all. I set about making the buttercream, which was fairly easy, and a good upper body workout to boot. When it was finished, I looked into the bowl and wondered how on earth I would get that small amount of buttercream to fill and cover the entire cake. I retrieved the lemon cream from the fridge, whisked it like crazy to loosen it up, then sliced open my pathetic little cake.

I had plenty of the lemon cream, not so much of the buttercream, and the ridiculously tiny layers. All went well until I got to the very top layer. Dorie says to place the cut side down, and since my cake was very suntanned when I rescued it from the oven, I had a hard time covering the browning with the light buttercream. By this time, the buttercream was very soft, and every time I took a swipe at it with the offset spatula to fix one area that was showing, I took off a large swath of the frosting in that area. Argh! Finally, I surrendered to the coconut, figuring it’s a great concealer.

Immediately, I photographed my homely Imperfect Party Cake and then sat down to enjoy a slice (was it for dinner? pre-dinner? snack?) I was blown away by the wonderful combination of lemon flavors with the different layers of textures. Personally, I thought the coconut detracted from my transcendent lemon experience, so I will leave that off next time.

I had considered making this a chocolate perfect party cake, because if you’re talking about perfection and cakes, chocolate’s a requirement in my house. But I resisted and I’m glad I did because the lemon was so light and refreshing.

(I must have taken 20 photos of this slice of cake. 18 had that worm-looking thing on the bottom. Why did I not notice this when I was taking the photos??)

I know you’re wishing you could kill off a bunch of eggs and butter on a relaxing Sunday afternoon, so you should join us. We’re accepting members again, and the best thing is that you get to cook along with some mighty great bakers, from Dorie Greenspan‘s book Baking From My Home to Yours. Check out the website for more information on joining. We’d love to have you.

TWD – Cappuccino Cinnamon Squares

Tuesdays with Dorie is an incredible group of bakers from all over the world. We’re baking through Dorie Greenspan’s book Baking from My Home to Yours. A different member chooses the recipe each week and we make it and blog about it. Sound like fun? We’re accepting new members again and we’d love to have you.

This week’s pick was chosen by Tracey of Tracey’s Culinary Adventures. After my less than successful result last week, I was geared up for this one. Timing, however, is not one of my talents. I decided that I would put it in the oven at 8:30 even though the oven repair guy was coming between 9:00 and 12:00 to replace the panel (for the second time–and the oven is just 6 months old, grrr). It took 5 minutes the last time they replaced the panel, and I figured that wouldn’t hurt my cake. Nonetheless, I took no process photos in my rush to get this done before he arrived.

This recipe was so easy to put together and is made without a mixer! The batter was delicious (good thing I didn’t taste it until the cake went into the oven). I was a little concerned because it seemed like a very skimpy amount of batter. I didn’t use a whisk, electing to use a spatula for the whole prep, which worried me a little. Maybe I was supposed to beat some volume into the batter with the whisk?

There seems to be an unwritten rule that the repair person doesn’t come until 15 minutes before the end of the time window, especially when it’s Saturday morning. But I discovered this rule doesn’t apply when you put something in the oven before he’s due. He showed up at 8:35, 25 minutes early and 10 minutes into baking. Naturally, the power to the oven had to be turned off. He may not have replaced one of these panels before because it took about 15 minutes for him to swap it out. 

A quick peek in the middle of my bizarre baking cycle confirmed that all was well. The cake was rising nicely, didn’t have any fallen doming and smelled fantastic. I have no idea how long it baked, but it tested done at some point and I pulled it out of the oven to cool.

Note my new Fat Daddio pan. Evidence of why I am the master rationalizer:

1.  Just took vacation in Paris, but used airline miles and hotel points so vacation cost = $0

2.  Ooo…shiny new pan…want…just went on vacation…but it was free…

3.  Buy pan

See what I mean? The vacation wasn’t totally free. We did eat, and that wasn’t free. We bought a lot of chocolate (much to the amusement of US Customs), also not free. But this is how my brain works.

Back to the cake (I seem to have trouble concentrating today, yes?)

After it cooled, I made the frosting (only two ingredients), spread it on the top, stepped back and admired the cake that almost was a do over….

But to me it’s not the look that matters, it’s the taste. And this one? Phenomenal. Amazing. Difficult to pass by without shaving some off the side to savor. The cappuccino flavor of the cake and the frosting were fantastic together. This is easily doable as a weeknight dessert, and would be tasty even without the frosting.

This one is easily on my top five list of the desserts I’ve made from this book. If you’re interested in the recipe, stop by Tracey’s blog as she’ll be posting it. 

TWD – Cappuccino Cinnamon Squares

Tuesdays with Dorie is an incredible group of bakers from all over the world. We’re baking through Dorie Greenspan’s book Baking from My Home to Yours. A different member chooses the recipe each week and we make it and blog about it. Sound like fun? We’re accepting new members again and we’d love to have you.

This week’s pick was chosen by Tracey of Tracey’s Culinary Adventures. After my less than successful result last week, I was geared up for this one. Timing, however, is not one of my talents. I decided that I would put it in the oven at 8:30 even though the oven repair guy was coming between 9:00 and 12:00 to replace the panel (for the second time–and the oven is just 6 months old, grrr). It took 5 minutes the last time they replaced the panel, and I figured that wouldn’t hurt my cake. Nonetheless, I took no process photos in my rush to get this done before he arrived.

This recipe was so easy to put together and is made without a mixer! The batter was delicious (good thing I didn’t taste it until the cake went into the oven). I was a little concerned because it seemed like a very skimpy amount of batter. I didn’t use a whisk, electing to use a spatula for the whole prep, which worried me a little. Maybe I was supposed to beat some volume into the batter with the whisk?

There seems to be an unwritten rule that the repair person doesn’t come until 15 minutes before the end of the time window, especially when it’s Saturday morning. But I discovered this rule doesn’t apply when you put something in the oven before he’s due. He showed up at 8:35, 25 minutes early and 10 minutes into baking. Naturally, the power to the oven had to be turned off. He may not have replaced one of these panels before because it took about 15 minutes for him to swap it out. 

A quick peek in the middle of my bizarre baking cycle confirmed that all was well. The cake was rising nicely, didn’t have any fallen doming and smelled fantastic. I have no idea how long it baked, but it tested done at some point and I pulled it out of the oven to cool.

Note my new Fat Daddio pan. Evidence of why I am the master rationalizer:

1.  Just took vacation in Paris, but used airline miles and hotel points so vacation cost = $0

2.  Ooo…shiny new pan…want…just went on vacation…but it was free…

3.  Buy pan

See what I mean? The vacation wasn’t totally free. We did eat, and that wasn’t free. We bought a lot of chocolate (much to the amusement of US Customs), also not free. But this is how my brain works.

Back to the cake (I seem to have trouble concentrating today, yes?)

After it cooled, I made the frosting (only two ingredients), spread it on the top, stepped back and admired the cake that almost was a do over….

But to me it’s not the look that matters, it’s the taste. And this one? Phenomenal. Amazing. Difficult to pass by without shaving some off the side to savor. The cappuccino flavor of the cake and the frosting were fantastic together. This is easily doable as a weeknight dessert, and would be tasty even without the frosting.

This one is easily on my top five list of the desserts I’ve made from this book. If you’re interested in the recipe, stop by Tracey’s blog as she’ll be posting it. 

TWD – Tiramisu Cake

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was chosen for us by Megan of My Baking Adventures. I love tiramisu and I love cake, but I wasn’t visualizing what this cake would look/taste like. I was also feeling a little stress as our vacation is just days away and I’m at the crossroads of getting work done/prepping for an Audit Committee meeting/accounting for M.’s business so I can leave and not worry about things at home. I almost skipped this, rationalizing that it would be OK with our vacation days away.

As you can see, I didn’t, and am I ever glad. First of all, Dorie made it easy to fit the making of this cake into all of the things I was working on. I got the layers in the oven in about 15 minutes. They cooled overnight, and I made the extract, the syrup and the frosting before work, and assembled the cake in time to start this post before I had to get in the shower to go to work. THAT’S a quick and easy dessert. Really!

I stopped at Trader Joe’s on the way home from work to pick up the mascarpone and whipping cream. Once home, I ate dinner, caught up on my Google Reader, and then at 9:00, kicked myself for not starting it earlier and went to get the layers in the oven. I deliberately did not buy buttermilk at TJ’s since I knew I could make sour milk as a substitution, and didn’t want to buy a quart of buttermilk when I only needed 3/4 of a cup. When I checked the fridge, I had some whipping cream that was a few days past its expire date and was definitely smelling…tangy. I decided to use it instead of “making” sour milk. Big risk. The batter smelled funky to me, the baking layers smelled funky. The baked layers smelled funky. I went to bed not sure if I had screwed this one up or not.

The next morning, I woke up at the normal time (don’t scream but I naturally wake up at about 5:20), had my coffee, checked the weather, and got to work on finishing the cake. One of the layers baked freakishly uneven, so I sawed off a goodly portion and tasted it. 

It was fine, no funky taste, although it was sort of dry. I made the espresso extract and syrup (these components were part of my initial confusion about this cake–I just couldn’t picture how they would fit in–maybe I should have read the recipe!)

I whipped the cream a little too long so it had that choppy look to it, so I beat it more cream to soften it up. You can see on the left it looks smooth while on the right it’s just a few moments away from becoming butter.

Gently mix the whipped cream into the Mascarpone.

I didn’t use alcohol in any of the components of the cake and truly, I don’t think it made a bit of difference. I love the flavor of coffee, and it had an opportunity to shine in the frosting. After assembling the cake, I realized I forgot to put the chopped chocolate between the layers.

Problem solved.

I took this to work where it quickly disappeared. Tiramisu lovers found it to be tasty, and I did too. It was dry, so I think it may have overbaked (it was a little past done at 18 minutes). Next time, I’ll check it earlier and that should help maintain the moisture. It’s possible that leaving it out uncovered overnight also impacted the moisture of the layers. This one was delicious if you’re a coffee lover, and I think it lends itself well to some fun experimentation. I think glazing this with a pourable ganache would look and taste amazing. Or maybe serving it in a puddle of caramel sauce.

The cake scraps, espresso syrup and frosting made a yummy breakfast. It has dairy and, umm, coffee!

TWD – Tiramisu Cake

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was chosen for us by Megan of My Baking Adventures. I love tiramisu and I love cake, but I wasn’t visualizing what this cake would look/taste like. I was also feeling a little stress as our vacation is just days away and I’m at the crossroads of getting work done/prepping for an Audit Committee meeting/accounting for M.’s business so I can leave and not worry about things at home. I almost skipped this, rationalizing that it would be OK with our vacation days away.

As you can see, I didn’t, and am I ever glad. First of all, Dorie made it easy to fit the making of this cake into all of the things I was working on. I got the layers in the oven in about 15 minutes. They cooled overnight, and I made the extract, the syrup and the frosting before work, and assembled the cake in time to start this post before I had to get in the shower to go to work. THAT’S a quick and easy dessert. Really!

I stopped at Trader Joe’s on the way home from work to pick up the mascarpone and whipping cream. Once home, I ate dinner, caught up on my Google Reader, and then at 9:00, kicked myself for not starting it earlier and went to get the layers in the oven. I deliberately did not buy buttermilk at TJ’s since I knew I could make sour milk as a substitution, and didn’t want to buy a quart of buttermilk when I only needed 3/4 of a cup. When I checked the fridge, I had some whipping cream that was a few days past its expire date and was definitely smelling…tangy. I decided to use it instead of “making” sour milk. Big risk. The batter smelled funky to me, the baking layers smelled funky. The baked layers smelled funky. I went to bed not sure if I had screwed this one up or not.

The next morning, I woke up at the normal time (don’t scream but I naturally wake up at about 5:20), had my coffee, checked the weather, and got to work on finishing the cake. One of the layers baked freakishly uneven, so I sawed off a goodly portion and tasted it. 

It was fine, no funky taste, although it was sort of dry. I made the espresso extract and syrup (these components were part of my initial confusion about this cake–I just couldn’t picture how they would fit in–maybe I should have read the recipe!)

I whipped the cream a little too long so it had that choppy look to it, so I beat it more cream to soften it up. You can see on the left it looks smooth while on the right it’s just a few moments away from becoming butter.

Gently mix the whipped cream into the Mascarpone.

I didn’t use alcohol in any of the components of the cake and truly, I don’t think it made a bit of difference. I love the flavor of coffee, and it had an opportunity to shine in the frosting. After assembling the cake, I realized I forgot to put the chopped chocolate between the layers.

Problem solved.

I took this to work where it quickly disappeared. Tiramisu lovers found it to be tasty, and I did too. It was dry, so I think it may have overbaked (it was a little past done at 18 minutes). Next time, I’ll check it earlier and that should help maintain the moisture. It’s possible that leaving it out uncovered overnight also impacted the moisture of the layers. This one was delicious if you’re a coffee lover, and I think it lends itself well to some fun experimentation. I think glazing this with a pourable ganache would look and taste amazing. Or maybe serving it in a puddle of caramel sauce.

The cake scraps, espresso syrup and frosting made a yummy breakfast. It has dairy and, umm, coffee!

TWD Rewind – Bill’s Big Carrot Cake

I have used the same carrot cake recipe for YEARS. It is always well loved but I was ready for a change. Dorie Greenspan has a carrot cake in Baking From My Home to Yours that was chosen before I joined Tuesdays with Dorie, and I figured I’d give it a try. I have heard whispers about how yummy and flat out fantastic it is from reading some of my fellow TWD bloggers’ posts, and I wanted to see how it compared to my go-to recipe.

My recipe has an 8 ounce can of crushed pineapple (juice included) and no coconut. That gives it a LLOOONNNGGGG life in the refrigerator, but that isn’t always a plus unless you’re a “B” diner. Dorie’s recipe has just cinnamon, and mine had a mixture of spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc.) Dorie’s calls for raisins or dried cranberries in addition to the nuts. Otherwise, the two were similar.

The recipe came together quickly and smelled amazing while it was baking. Since I made this a couple of weeks before I needed it, I cooled the layers completely and then triple wrapped them in plastic wrap and double wrapped them in heavy duty foil. My freezer is small and my friend Susan has a humongo freezer, so they had a sleep over at her house. On the day I planned to serve the cake, I let the layers sit out at room temperature (still wrapped) for an hour or two before I assembled the cake. 

Dorie’s cream cheese frosting recipe uses a pound of confectioner’s sugar to 8 ounces of cream cheese, but adds a tablespoon of lemon juice to counteract the sweetness. I didn’t have an available lemon, so I cut back on the sugar (to 14 ounces). I left the sides of the cake bare as Dorie did in the picture in the book. 

This cake rocked our world. I used Vietnamese cinnamon and it gave the cake a wonderful depth of flavor. Normally, I use about half the amount of Vietnamese cinnamon since it’s so assertive, but I really liked the spiciness it gave. We even liked it without any frosting.

My old recipe? It’s history. Dorie’s recipe? It’s the future. A very yummy future, indeed. To make this cake a part of your future, check out the book Baking From My Home to Yours. It is an amazing feast of go-to recipes just as great as this one.

TWD Rewind – Bill’s Big Carrot Cake

I have used the same carrot cake recipe for YEARS. It is always well loved but I was ready for a change. Dorie Greenspan has a carrot cake in Baking From My Home to Yours that was chosen before I joined Tuesdays with Dorie, and I figured I’d give it a try. I have heard whispers about how yummy and flat out fantastic it is from reading some of my fellow TWD bloggers’ posts, and I wanted to see how it compared to my go-to recipe.

My recipe has an 8 ounce can of crushed pineapple (juice included) and no coconut. That gives it a LLOOONNNGGGG life in the refrigerator, but that isn’t always a plus unless you’re a “B” diner. Dorie’s recipe has just cinnamon, and mine had a mixture of spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc.) Dorie’s calls for raisins or dried cranberries in addition to the nuts. Otherwise, the two were similar.

The recipe came together quickly and smelled amazing while it was baking. Since I made this a couple of weeks before I needed it, I cooled the layers completely and then triple wrapped them in plastic wrap and double wrapped them in heavy duty foil. My freezer is small and my friend Susan has a humongo freezer, so they had a sleep over at her house. On the day I planned to serve the cake, I let the layers sit out at room temperature (still wrapped) for an hour or two before I assembled the cake. 

Dorie’s cream cheese frosting recipe uses a pound of confectioner’s sugar to 8 ounces of cream cheese, but adds a tablespoon of lemon juice to counteract the sweetness. I didn’t have an available lemon, so I cut back on the sugar (to 14 ounces). I left the sides of the cake bare as Dorie did in the picture in the book. 

This cake rocked our world. I used Vietnamese cinnamon and it gave the cake a wonderful depth of flavor. Normally, I use about half the amount of Vietnamese cinnamon since it’s so assertive, but I really liked the spiciness it gave. We even liked it without any frosting.

My old recipe? It’s history. Dorie’s recipe? It’s the future. A very yummy future, indeed. To make this cake a part of your future, check out the book Baking From My Home to Yours. It is an amazing feast of go-to recipes just as great as this one.