Carrot Cake Favorite

Most of the cakes I make are variations of my basic cake recipe, but this recipe I adapted from my fan-favorite zucchini cake.  Just so you know--I am going to do some shameless bragging about this recipe.  Feel free to skip the rest of this self-gratuitous paragraph.  This is one of the best cakes, and hands down the best carrot cake, I have ever tasted.  As many of you know, Adam is not generally a fan of sweets, but he snuck a cupcake and a mini cupcake before I could take pictures.  This cake pleased everyone from the ninety-five-year-old Grandma, whose birthday we celebrated, all the way down to the toddlers.

Ok.  I'm done now.  Let's get to the recipe.

Cake Ingredients

• 3 Cups all-purpose flour
• 2 Cups dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1.5 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 Cup vegetable oil
• 3 Cups grated carrots
• 1/2 Cup golden raisins
• 1/2 Cup black (I'm not sure what these are called) raisins
• 1 Cup crushed walnuts

Frosting Ingredients

• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 Cup (2 sticks) butter - this makes a more buttery cream cheese frosting; if you really like cream cheese, use just one stick of butter
• 2-3 Cups powdered sugar
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla

Mix and Bake (for tips on baking see this post)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together into medium mixing bowl

3. Combine brown sugar and dry mixture in large mixing bowl--mix well
4. Beat together the eggs and oil in the small mixing bowl
5. Add egg and oil mixture to large mixing bowl--add vanilla while mixing these ingredients together (DO NOT OVER-MIX)
6. Your batter at this point will be sort of stiff and sticky like a dough

7. Add carrots, raisins, and nuts, and mix until dispersed--the batter becomes much more moist and like a batter
8. Spray pan with baking spray, and pour batter into pan (use spatula to scrape out mixing bowl)
9. Bake at 325 degrees F for 50 minutes (cupcakes take much less time: about 12-15 minutes for minis and 18-22 for regular)
10. Place pan on cooling rack for 15 minutes
11. Turn cake out onto rack to finish cooling

Mix Frosting (for frosting tips see this post)

1. After putting cake in oven, remove cream cheese and butter from fridge to soften 
2. Cream together butter and cream cheese
3. Add powdered sugar to frosting mixture and mix well; add enough sugar so that it tastes delicious and is stiff enough to hold whatever shape you are going for
4. Mix vanilla into frosting
5. When cake is cool, stack, frost, and decorate

Lisa's Lime Brownies

A few years ago, my mom discovered these wonderful orange brownies from Paula Deen.  We love lime in my family, so recently, my mother adapted this recipe into a lime brownie.  These brownies do not taste like traditional brownies, but they are dense and chewy like the delicious chocolate brownies you are used to.  Try these for your next summer get together, or make some to enjoy while lounging around the pool.

Ingredients

Zest the limes with a fine grater or micro-plane.  Juice the limes by squeezing around a fork.

Brownies

• 1.5 cups (plus 2 Tablespoons) flour
• 2 cups (minus 2 Tablespoons) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick butter (softened)
• 4 eggs
• Zest and juice of 3 limes

Frosting

• 8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
• 4 tablespoons butter (softened)
• 1/2 bag (about a pound) powdered sugar
• Zest of 2 limes
• Juice of 1 lime

Directions

Brownies

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Spray 9x13 pan with Pam.
3. Cream together the butter, sugar, lime zest, and lime juice.
4. Beat in the eggs.
5. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
6. Pour into the greased pan, and bake for 30 minutes.
7. Set aside to cool.

Frosting

1. Cream the cream cheese and butter together.
2. Mix in zest and juice.
3. Gradually beat in the powdered sugar.
4. Spread onto the cooled brownies.

These are so delicious!  I love to add a strawberry on the top, but I also think raspberry would be divine.  How would you dress up these brownies?

Cream Cheese Oreo Truffles

These easy to make confections will put you in chocolate overload.  I recommend making with a friend (it will make the dipping part easier).  The assisting is really easy, so you could even have a child help.

Ingredients

• 1 Bag Milk Chocolate Chips
• 1 Package Double-Stuff Oreos
• 8 oz. Cream Cheese
• Edible Pearls/Sprinkles

Supplies

• Medium Pot
• Medium Glass Mixing Bowl
• Spatula
• Food Processor/Chopper
• Heavy Duty Mixer or Handheld Mixer and Mixing Bowl
• Two Forks
• Mini Cupcake Liners
• Cookie Sheet
• Small Melon Baller/Cookie Scoop or two small spoons

Directions

1. Soften the cream cheese
2. Use the food processor to chop the oreos into small pieces (you could also do this by putting the cookies into a bag and crushing with a large spoon, or glass bottom)

3. Mix the cookie crumbs/pieces with the cream cheese until well blended

4. Refrigerate for an hour until the mixture become stiff
5. Separate the cupcake liners and set out on cookie sheet
6. Create a double-boiler using the glass bowl, and pot (see instructions on the post about White Chocolate Peppermint Popcorn)
7. Melt the milk chocolate in the double boiler (remember to use the spatula the stir constantly so the chocolate doesn't burn)
8. Remove the oreo mixture from the fridge
9. Using the melon baller, scoop small balls of the oreo mixture and drop into the melted chocolate

10. Use the forks to turn and completely cover the oreo truffle

11. Remove the truffle from the chocolate, and place onto a cupcake liner (lift with one fork, and scrape onto liner with the other)
12. When you finish with the entire batch of oreo mixture, sprinkle all truffles with the edible pearls
13. Cool completely in the refrigerator
14. Truffles will be ready to serve in about 1 hour