Back in Business: Who has time for a blog?

A year ago I decided I didn't have time for a blog. What I have learned in the last year is that apparently I don't have time for anything...unless I make the time. So, since food is an integral part of my life, I have decided that I need to make an effort to make writing about food an equally integral part of my life. My hang up last year was photos. Who doesn't LOVE tantalizing photos of food ready to be consumed? A recipe book without photos is like sex without foreplay! But taking the photo, uploading the photo and integrating it into the blog, delayed a lot of my posts and kept me from doing what I really set out to do - share my love of food and the funny mishaps that often occur when cooking for a family. So I'm not committing myself to photos, but I will make an effort to include as many as possible.

In a desperate attempt to win back readers who gave up on me (and rightfully so), I am sharing my all time favorite dessert recipe - A Classic Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. I don't even remember where I found the original recipe, but after years of tinkering and modifying, I think we've found perfection. It was Ryan's first birthday cake (pictures below) and has been a part of many family celebrations. Hope you and your loved ones love it as much as we have!



Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting



To make cupcakes, bake at 350 degrees for roughly 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. The number one rule of all cake baking - DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FROST THIS BAD BOY UNTIL IT IS COMPLETELY COOL - unless you want your cake layers to slide and for the whole thing to look like the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Patience is a virtue that really pays off in cake baking.




For the Cake:
INGREDIENTS:

6 cups grated carrots
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup raisins
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts

1. In a medium bowl, combine grated carrots and brown sugar. Set aside for 60 minutes, then stir in raisins.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 10 inch cake pans.
3. In a large bowl, beat eggs until light. Gradually beat in the white sugar, oil and vanilla. Stir in the pineapple. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, stir into the wet mixture until absorbed. Finally stir in the carrot mixture and the walnuts. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.
4. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes in the preheated oven, until cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. When completely cooled, frost with cream cheese frosting.

For the Frosting:

INGREDIENTS:

2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use.