carrot cake

I have high hopes for cooking in my life. I want to go to culinary school. I want to learn. I want to travel. I want to eat. I want to experience. I want to learn techniques. I want to invent techniques. I want to be under the highest of highs. I want to be taught by the best of the best.

It's hard though. To have to make food for a family while having such high expectations of yourself. Trying to better my cooking skills while still making food they'll eat. So i've just decided to work on subtle skills. The basics that are ever so important. Understanding yeast and meanwhile making homemade cinnamon rolls. Working with pastries and biscuits and providing perfect scones. Learning how to combine new flavors and making them fun galettes.
It's all in the process of give and take. I've been working on developing my own base cake recipes. I have my chocolate, vanilla and red velvet down pack and I wanted to move on. My dad brought up carrot cake. uh ew. I like vegetables, I like cake but together? no. no no no. My idea of carrot cake was way disorted kids.

way way disorted. who knew that my entire family, right down to the picky little twelve year old would devour every crumb of the luciously moist and spiced carrot cake with the best whipped cream cheese frosting; two ways. Who would have thunked it. That i, and my whole family would enjoy it so immensly. so go ahead. treat yourself and consider it a healthy move with all those veggies packed inside. plus eggs so thats protien. and milk for calcium. a little sugar never hurt anybody anyway.
perfect.

Best Carrot Cake makes a two layer 8 or 9 inch cake
Ingredients-
1 lb carrots (shredded) about 2 large
1/2 TBSP cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
a dash of cloves
2 cups of flour
2 tsp of baking powder
2 tsp of baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups sugar depending on your preference. I've used either depending on the audience.
4 eggs (room temperature)
1/2 tsp butter extract
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup + 2 TBSP oil
1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup milk with 2 tsp vinegar mixed in and set aside for 5 minutes.)

Directions-
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and butter and flour two 8 or 9 inch cake pans.
Shred your carrots before you start, and set aside.
Sift together the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, flour, both leavenings (baking soda and baking powder) and the salt. Set aside.
Beat the sugar and eggs together for 6 minutes or til pale, thickened and getting a leetle fluffy and fun. Beat in the rest of the liquid ingredients until combined.
Remove the bowl from the mixer. Dump in the dry ingredients and stir in by hand, just enough to wet. Add the shredded carrots and mix til thoroughly mixed and combined.
Divide and weigh into pans.
Bake at 325 for 50 minutes or til amber brown and lightly springy to the touch. Let cool in the pans for 25 minutes because they're so moist. Carefully remove to wire racks, bottom down. Let cool completely before frosting. (Recipe below)

Okay, now you have two frosting options. You can use my go to cream cheese frosting by the famous Mrs. Humble with never fails. Or, if you don't have heavy cream around or you may need to decorate the cake more delicately, something the other frosting may not be up for, use the one below. It's the consistency of ultra fluffy buttercream while tasting like cream cheese frosting. 

Buttercream/Cream Cheese Frosting makes enough to fill a 9 inch cake, you'll need to double if you also want to cover it. I find that just filling the cake and then topping with a glaze is enough for me. To each his own.
Ingredients-

8 TBSP butter (softened but still cold)
1 1/4 cups confectioners sugar
4 oz cheese (softened but still cold)
1/2 tsp clear vanilla

Directions-
Beat the butter and sugar on high for 3 minutes or til as fluffy as can be, and ultra thick. Add the vanilla and beat again. Drop in the cream cheese and beat again until desired consistency. Frost and enjoy.