Carrot Cake

Carrot cake is my Dad's absolute favorite cake flavor, but he's kinda persnickety about it. The boxed ones are a no-go...and the ones that taste like spice cake, uh- uh. So, finding a recipe that he approved of was quite a task.

A friend of ours brought over her version of carrot cake one night, and it was a winner. So naturally, we had to have the recipe, and this has been one of our favorites for a long time now.

You'll need:

1 1/2c. sugar

1c. oil

3 eggs

2c. flour

1 1/2tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2tsp. salt

1/4tsp. nutmeg

3c. shredded carrots

Mix all the ingredients together except the carrots using a hand mixer. Once all these are incorporated, stir in the carrots by hand. Pour the batter into a greased and floured baking pan, or two 8-in round cake pans. Bake at 350* for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let it cool.

While the cake is sitting, go ahead and make the frosting. Obviously, this cake calls for a cream cheese frosting, and unfortunately for you all, I don't use a recipe. But, I can give you a basic idea.

I use 1 block of cream cheese, and throw in a little milk, a little vanilla, and I add powdered sugar until the consistency is slightly thick but still spreadable, and it tastes good.  Yeah....sorry 'bout that. That's how I cook most of the time...

All that's left now is the assembly. You could get fancy and really 'decorate' the cake, but I just poured the frosting over the cake still in the pan, and sprinkled it with cinnamon.

And there you have it! A full serving of vegetables too! ;)

Happy Cooking!

-G



Rocky Road Candy

I noticed that I haven't posted on sweets since I first started this blog, so I decided to remedy that with this post.

This recipe is one that my family has been doing for ages...it's super simple and so delicious! I never tire of rocky road candy ;P

You'll Need:
1 (12 oz.) pkg. semi-sweet chocolate morsels
1 (14oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
2 T. butter
2c. dry roasted peanuts
1 (10 1/2 oz.) package mini marshmallows

In a saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate morsels with butter and condensed milk. Remove from heat. In a large bowl, combine peanuts and marshamallows; stir in chocolate mixture.
Spread in a wax-paper lined 13x9 pan and chill for 2 hours or until firm. Remove from pan, peel off wax paper, and cut into squares.

Happy Cooking!
-G

Mini Blueberry Cobblers

It's that time of year again......

In honor of the initiation of summer, I decided to welcome back the blueberry! Oh how I love this little fruit...

Last Christmas, I was given a set of ramekins, and I've been scratching my head on what I can use them for. Well, after scouring the internet for recipes, the idea came to me....DUH! Why don't I make personalized cobblers? They were so simple to make, delicious, and I love how everyone had their own little serving!

For starters, I used 6oz. ramekins, so I used about 2/3c. of fresh berries. I dusted them with some sugar, and set them in the fridge to let them soak and make their own syrup.

Meanwhile, I made the crumb topping. I half invented the recipe, but really, it's very basic. I used 1/4c. flour, 1/2c. dry oats, 1/4c. brown sugar, 1tsp. cinammon, and 1/2 stick of butter. I cut the cold butter in until I had a nice crumbly mixture.

Top off your dishes with the topping........

And bake in a 375F oven for about 20 minutes of until you see that the tops are golden brown, and somewhat crispy.

After removing them, you might want to let them cool a little bit, but personally, I think the best way to eat these is piping hot with a nice scoop of icey cream on top!

Oh, how I love summer and all that it brings!

Happy Cooking!

-G

Did Someone Say 'Chocolate?'

So, I finally decided to open a food blog. But, this being my first post, I had to open it with an awesome recipe. Something that would be memorable. Then I thought, "Hey, what is better than chocolate?"

Not only is this recipe chocolate, it's the pure essence of deliciousness. The cake is light and moist, and the frosting is sooo smooth and fluffy and chocolatey! I couldn't resist. I have to admit, it is yet another Paula Deen recipe. I can't help myself. How can one person have so many delish recipes? So, here's a step-by-step guide on how to prepare Paula Deen's Luscious Chocolate Almond Cake.

You'll Need:
2c. sugar
2c. all-purpouse flour
1c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2tsp. baking soda
1tsp. baking powder
1tsp. salt
1c. milk
1c. sour cream
3/4c. vegetable oil
2 eggs
1Tbs. vanilla extract
1/2c. toasted slivered almonds, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 3 (9-inch) cake pans with non-stick cooking spray with flour.

In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients except almonds. Add milk, sour cream, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Beat at medium speed until smooth.

Spoon batter into prepared pans, and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into center comes out clean.

Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

Frosting
4 (1oz) bittersweet chocolate baking bars, chopped
1/2c. heavy whipping cream
1c. butter, softened
2Tbs. almond-flavored liquor
4c. powdered sugar

In medium saucepan, combine cream and chocolate. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Let cool for 20 minutes. In a large bowl, beat butter and liquor until smooth. Gradually add chocolate mixture and powdered sugar, until combined and smooth.

Assembly
Spread frosting over bottom layer of cake. Sprinkle with 1/4c. almonds. Top with second cake layer. Spread frosting over cake layer; sprinkle with remaining almonds. Top with third cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Garnish with sliced almonds, if desired.

Voila! Here's the finished product. For being such a fancy looking cake, it's really very simple and a real crowd pleaser!

Happy Cooking!