Photo
July 12, 2010
3 notes
Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting :) I made this same cake around the same time last year.  This time, I had a real purpose: my friend’s 21st birthday.  :) What else went differently this time?  1. Smaller cake + cupcakesI didn’t want to overwhelm anybody with a huge, overbearing cake, so I decided to make a small 2-layer, (about) 2”-radius cake for my friend, and used the rest of the batter for cupcakes.  The cupcakes served as a great little mid-day/post-lunch treat for my roommates.  :)   2. Thicker, better frostingI’m finally getting a hang of this whole “frosting” thing.  I’m pretty sure I completely messed up the frosting last time (i.e. I didn’t have maple syrup sitting around, so I just tried to make frosting with cream cheese, powdered sugar, and butter only..).  I usually don’t have pure maple syrup just sitting around, so I substituted honey for the syrup.  Result?  A smooth, not-too-sweet frosting.  This frosting isn’t overwhelmingly sweet (like most store-bought frostings are); it allows the cream cheese to stand out and speak for itself, which makes the frosting so much more refreshing.  Also, this light frosting complements the carrot cake, rather than overpowering it in the realm of your taste buds. What would I do differently next time? More stuff.I’m really hesitant to ever add nuts/dried fruits to baked things, because I’m always afraid someone might be allergic to nuts, or might just hate that certain dried fruit that I added to the recipe.  However, I think that carrot cake is made even more delicious when it includes hints of walnuts and raisins.  Next time, I’ll overcome my fears of displeasing people and toss in a cup or two of both raisins and walnuts.  Yum. :) Here’s the recipe for the carrot cake and maple cream cheese icing.  Don’t lose it.  This recipe is so delicious that I’m confidently making it my go-to carrot cake recipe for the rest of my life (yes, it’s that good).  :)

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting :)

I made this same cake around the same time last year.  This time, I had a real purpose: my friend’s 21st birthday.  :)

What else went differently this time? 

1. Smaller cake + cupcakes
I didn’t want to overwhelm anybody with a huge, overbearing cake, so I decided to make a small 2-layer, (about) 2”-radius cake for my friend, and used the rest of the batter for cupcakes.  The cupcakes served as a great little mid-day/post-lunch treat for my roommates.  :)  

2. Thicker, better frosting
I’m finally getting a hang of this whole “frosting” thing.  I’m pretty sure I completely messed up the frosting last time (i.e. I didn’t have maple syrup sitting around, so I just tried to make frosting with cream cheese, powdered sugar, and butter only..).  I usually don’t have pure maple syrup just sitting around, so I substituted honey for the syrup.  Result?  A smooth, not-too-sweet frosting.  This frosting isn’t overwhelmingly sweet (like most store-bought frostings are); it allows the cream cheese to stand out and speak for itself, which makes the frosting so much more refreshing.  Also, this light frosting complements the carrot cake, rather than overpowering it in the realm of your taste buds.

What would I do differently next time?

More stuff.
I’m really hesitant to ever add nuts/dried fruits to baked things, because I’m always afraid someone might be allergic to nuts, or might just hate that certain dried fruit that I added to the recipe.  However, I think that carrot cake is made even more delicious when it includes hints of walnuts and raisins.  Next time, I’ll overcome my fears of displeasing people and toss in a cup or two of both raisins and walnuts.  Yum. :)

Here’s the recipe for the carrot cake and maple cream cheese icing.  Don’t lose it.  This recipe is so delicious that I’m confidently making it my go-to carrot cake recipe for the rest of my life (yes, it’s that good).  :)

Tags: cake carrot cream cheese birthdays

Photo
July 15, 2009
3 notes
I made my first double-layer frosted cake yesterday. :) It was a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.  I really need to work on my frosting skills; my cake almost looks like a massacre.  I guess it’s my fault, considering I was too impatient to let the frosting chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes (I was on my way to bouldering at The Circuit, and I really wanted to have the cake cold and ready after I got back). Of course, Rodney got the first taste of the cake (about 1/4 of the cake, actually.. haha). The cake tasted just like a carrot cake should— packed with cinnamon, cloves, and carrots for a sweet and slightly spicy flavor.  The cream cheese frosting was more cream cheesy (and less sugary) than a usual cream cheese frosting.  It was delicious, and complimented the cake perfectly. I was going to decorate the cake by lining the outter edge of the cake with shredded carrots, but I didn’t have time to do this before I sliced a huge chunk out for Rodney (haha). All in all, this was an incredibly fun project with great results!  I got the recipe from Smitten Kitchen (Deb is so amazing; she’s definitely one of my baking idols!).  I have another double-layer cake project brewing in my mind.. But I’ll have to save it for next week.  It’s actually going to be an early birthday gift to someone, so I really hope it goes well! (I’m pretty nervous..)

I made my first double-layer frosted cake yesterday. :)

It was a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.  I really need to work on my frosting skills; my cake almost looks like a massacre.  I guess it’s my fault, considering I was too impatient to let the frosting chill in the fridge for at least 20 minutes (I was on my way to bouldering at The Circuit, and I really wanted to have the cake cold and ready after I got back).

Of course, Rodney got the first taste of the cake (about 1/4 of the cake, actually.. haha).

The cake tasted just like a carrot cake should— packed with cinnamon, cloves, and carrots for a sweet and slightly spicy flavor.  The cream cheese frosting was more cream cheesy (and less sugary) than a usual cream cheese frosting.  It was delicious, and complimented the cake perfectly.

I was going to decorate the cake by lining the outter edge of the cake with shredded carrots, but I didn’t have time to do this before I sliced a huge chunk out for Rodney (haha).

All in all, this was an incredibly fun project with great results!  I got the recipe from Smitten Kitchen (Deb is so amazing; she’s definitely one of my baking idols!).  I have another double-layer cake project brewing in my mind.. But I’ll have to save it for next week.  It’s actually going to be an early birthday gift to someone, so I really hope it goes well! (I’m pretty nervous..)

Tags: carrot cake cream cheese