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Showing posts with label cake. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cake. Show all posts

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Carrot cake


I made this Carrot cake last week for an early Easter get together with dans family. it was so yummy. You should make one for Easter too.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS
For the Carrot Cake:
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces)
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 pound medium carrots (6 to 7 carrots), peeled
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (10 1/2 ounces)
1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

For the Cream Cheese Frosting: The original recipe was actually double this frosting. if you do a sheet cake this is plenty, but if you do a layer cake like I did then double it, you will have left overs though.
8 ounces cream cheese softened but still cool
5 tablespoons unsalted butter softened, but still cool
1 tablespoon sour cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar (4 1/2 ounces)


DIRECTIONS
FOR THE CAKE:
Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 13 by 9-inch or 2 9" cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line bottom of pan with parchment and spray parchment.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in large bowl; set aside.

In food processor fitted with large shredding disk, shred carrots (you should have about
3 cups); transfer carrots to bowl and set aside. Wipe out food processor work bowl and fit with metal blade. Process granulated and brown sugars and eggs until frothy and thoroughly combined, about 20 seconds. With machine running, add oil through feed tube in steady stream. Process until mixture is light in color and well emulsified, about 20 seconds longer. Scrape mixture into medium bowl. Stir in carrots and dry ingredients until incorporated and no streaks of flour remain. Pour into prepared pan and bake until toothpick or skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 25-35 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time. Cool cake to room temperature in pan on wire rack, about 2 hours.


FOR THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:
When cake is cool, process cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla in clean food processor workbowl until combined, about
5 seconds, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add confectioners' sugar and process until smooth, about 10 seconds.

Run paring knife around edge of cake to loosen from pan. Invert cake onto wire rack, peel off parchment, then invert again onto serving platter. Using icing spatula, spread frosting evenly over surface of cake. Cut into squares and serve. (Cover leftovers and refrigerate for up to 3 days.)

Recipe reprinted by permission of America's Test Kitchen. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Molten Chocolate Cake


Alrighty, so the restaurant Chili's has the amazing Chocolate Molten Cake. Remember--that's the cake that is chocolate cake with a lava flow of hot fudge in the center, and then a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top and the hard shell chocolate sauce on the ice cream and over the cake.

Needless to say---It is sooooooo good!

But how can you make it at home?
I found a few ideas online and this is what I put together
one chocolate cake ( I made mine from a box of devils food and made it into cupcakes. if you had a Texas size cupcake holders it would be better, but regular muffin size is good too.
1 jar of hot fudge ice cream topping (warm in microwave. watch carefully though because it can go all over and hence the mess on my face a few posts earlier.
vanilla ice cream
chocolate sauce. you can buy magic shell or make it by taking chocolate chips (1 bag) with 3 tablespoons of butter over a double boiler. Melt until smooth.


After cakes have cooled, cut a hole in the top and fill with fudge sauce until it is up to the top. Around a tablespoon.
after filling each cake. Place in freezer, for at least 2 hours