Monthly Archives: March 2016

Super Moist Carrot Cake

28 Monday Mar 2016

Posted by in Dessert, Holiday

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Super Moist Carrot Cake

This cake was my creation for Easter dessert this year.  I even dressed it up with edible shimmer sprinkled across the top!

I absolutely love carrot cake, but it’s one of those foods that I rarely eat because it usually contains walnuts, pecans, or some other type of toasted nut, making homemade nut-free carrot cake such a treat for me!  I love my carrot cake chock full of carrots, so there’s a whole three cups of finely shredded carrots packed into this dessert!  Does that mean I can count a slice as a serving of vegetables?!

Super Moist Carrot Cake
Yield:  One two-tiered 9-inch cake (8-16 servings)
Time:  30 minutes prep, 35-40 minutes baking, ~70 minutes total

For the cake:
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1½ tsp. cinnamon
1½ tsp. ground ginger
¼ tsp. salt
3 cups finely shredded carrots* (roughly 8 large carrots)
½ cup canola oil
¼ cup crushed pineapple with liquid/juice
zest of one large orange

For the cream cheese frosting:
8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup (8 tbsp.) butter, at room temperature
2-3 cups confectioner’s sugar
1 tbsp. vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Lightly grease two 9-inch round baking pans.  Set aside.
  2. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt.  Set aside.
  3. In another large mixing bowl, beat the eggs.  Stir in the finely shredded carrots, canola oil, crushed pineapple, and orange zest.  Beat in the dry ingredients, a bit at a time.
  4. Divide evenly between the two prepared baking pans.  Bake at 350ºF for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  Allow the cakes to fully cool before frosting.
  5. Whip the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract) together in a stand mixer until light and fluffy.  Add confectioner’s sugar, a bit at a time, until the desired consistency is reached.  Place one layer of cake on a plate or cake stand and spread with frosting.  Top with the second layer of cake, and cover the entire cake (top and sides) the remaining frosting.  If desired, reserve some of the frosting to pipe on decorations.

PDF to Print Recipe for Super Moist Carrot Cake

The cake can be prepared a day or two in advance and stored at room temperature, but it is best to frost this cake the day you plan to eat it.  Store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

*Finely shredded carrots keep the carrot cake very moist.  If the carrots are shredded into pieces that are too large, they will be too heavy and sink to the bottom of the batter as the cakes cook.  Finely shredded carrots stay suspended in the batter, resulting in a more even distribution.

Super Moist Carrot Cake

Whipped Blue Cheese and Poached Pear Toasts

09 Wednesday Mar 2016

Posted by in Appetizers, Boozy, Bread, Fruit, Vegetarian

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Whipped Blue Cheese Pear Toasts

This looks and tastes like a fancy schmancy appetizer, but I promise you it’s very simple to make.  It pairs especially well with dessert wine, which is exactly how I discovered it!  My friend Courtney recently suggested this recipe to me after I told her I planned to crack open a bottle of Far Niente’s dessert wine Dolce with my hubby that evening.  I highly recommend these elegant toasts, whether you’re simultaneously toasting with dessert wine or not!

Whipped Blue Cheese and Poached Pear Toasts
Yield:  8 appetizer servings
Time:  30 minutes

For the whipped blue cheese:
6 oz. blue cheese
4 oz. cream cheese (or Neufchâtel)
¾ tsp. red wine vinegar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 cup whipped cream

For the poached pears:
8 cups water
2½ cup sugar
6 cinnamon sticks
5 strips of fresh ginger (remove the outer skin from the ginger root, then create strips using a vegetable peeler)
4 Bosc pears (Bartlett or Anjou work too!)

Other:
1 baguette or loaf of other French bread
freshly cracked pepper
4 tbsp. honey

  1. Thinly slice the baguette and lightly toast until golden brown (about 5-8 minutes at 375ºF).
  2. To poach the pears, combine the water, sugar, cinnamon and ginger in a small saucepan.  Simmer over medium heat until gently boiling.  Keeping the stems of the pears intact, peel off the outer skin.  Submerge the pears into the boiling poaching liquid and continue to simmer over medium heat until the pears are softened, about 10 minutes.  Remove the pears from the liquid and allow to cool to room temperature.  Slice into quarters, remove the core, and thinly slice each quarter into about 5 slices.
  3. In the meantime, mash together the blue cheese, cream cheese, vinegar and salt.  Gently fold in the whipped cream and mix until well blended.
  4. Spread 1 tbsp. of the cheese mixture over each toasted baguette slice.  Place two slices of poached pear on top of the cheese mixture.  Lightly drizzle with honey and garnish with fresh cracked pepper.

Note:  The poaching liquid can be kept refrigerated for up to one week to poach additional pears and/or to be used as a pear-cinnamon-ginger simple syrup for cocktails.

PDF to Print Recipe for Whipped Blue Cheese and Poached Pear Toasts

This recipe was inspired by Far Niente’s recipe, which is available at: http://www.dolcewine.com/recipes/blue-cheese-mousse-with-vanilla-poached-pear-canape/?utm_source=Winery+Customers&utm_campaign=f52bc20046-DEC%2BDFNS%2BRecipe%2B2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_42c452f99d-f52bc20046-229092593