A Birthday With A Side of Carrots

Hey!

It is been quite a while since I have posted, but I guarantee that this post will make up for the days that lacked one! 

In my family, I am the one known to be the "baker" or the "cake-lady" and so on. Cake is most definitely my FAVORITE dessert to make. I love to experiment with new recipes and flavors, in the hopes that my baking will expose my family and friends to textural and sensational palates that they didn't think even existed. Maybe this is weird, but in my opinion, it is so much fun to see others eat your food! It makes me feel as though I have accomplished something and given those I care about something they can love too. 

As my Daddy's birthday was coming up, I knew I would be baking him a cake. I'm really lucky that my Dad is such an easy-going guy and that he will eat anything I put in front of him! But since this is HIS birthday, I made him choose what flavor cake he would like. He loves anything banana and has always loved a good carrot cake. Well, my family had already eaten two cakes made with banana recently, so I decided to make my Daddy a carrot cake. I had never made a carrot cake before, but I knew exactly where to look for the perfect recipe: The Internet. 

This thing called the Internet honestly amazes me. I don't understand it and I don't think I ever will, but, it sure does come in handy! 

When a recipe on allrecipes.com came up with over 1,400 reviews and a perfect 5 stars, I knew that would be the recipe I would use. This recipe is called "Sam's Famous Carrot Cake" and I can see why it is considered famous! This  a moist and delectably tantalizing cake! Each bite was like a party in your mouth! And the weirdest part of this cake?: I didn't use cream cheese frosting! NOPE! NO CREAM CHEESE! You can continue to gape. Trust me, I miss that great frosting, but with a family that is lactose intolerant; eating dairy and then getting sick is not worth it. 

I could continue to rave on about each aspect of the cake, but I took a lot of pictures. So hopefully those will do a lot of the explaining for me! 

The cake was a HIT with my family. The frosting I chose was a whipped cream frosting. But, again, because my family is lactose intolerant I found a recipe that results in a frosting that is similar in taste and texture to a traditional whipped cream. This recipe was again found on allrecipes.com. This one is titled "Cool Whipped Frosting" and has 4 1/2 stars. I doctored it a little to fit the needs to my specific carrot cake and was very happy with the results. I wish I had put more on the cake! 

Below is the recipe for Carrot Cake and Cool Whipped Frosting:

"Sam's Famous Carrot Cake" Ingredients: 

3 Eggs

*3/4 Cup Buttermilk (I used 1 TBSP Lemon Juice and then milk that filled up to the 3/4 cup mark)

*3/4 Cup Veggie Oil (I used 1/2 Melted Coconut Oil and 1/4 Veggie Oil)

1 1/2 Cups White Sugar 

2 TSP Vanilla Extract

2 TSP Ground Cinnamon

1/4 TSP Salt 

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

2 TSP Baking Soda

2 Cups Shredded Carrots

1 Cup Flaked Coconut

*1 Cup Chopped Walnuts (I used Pecans)

1 (8 Ounce) Can Crushed Pineapple With Juice 

1 Cup Raisins 

Directions: 

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C.) Grease and flour an 8x12 inch pan. (I used 2 9-inch round pans because I wanted a layered cake.)

2.) In a medium bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside. 

3.) In a large bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk*, oil*, sugar, and vanilla. Mix well. Add flour mixture and mix well. 

4.) In a medium bowl, combine shredded carrots, coconut, walnuts*, pineapple and raisins. 

5.) Using a large wooden spoon or a very heavy whisk, add carrot mixture to batter and fold in well. 

6.) Pour into prepared pan(s), and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for an hour* (Using the two 9-inch pans, mine were done in only 35 minutes! Be careful and keep an eye on the cake(s) while in the oven.

7.) Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before serving. * (I froze mine for about two days so that they were easier to frost on my Dad's actual birthday!) 

* See Note Above

Cool Whipped Frosting Ingredients: 

1 (8 ounce) Container of Frozen Whipped Topping, thawed *( I used about 1 1/2 containers) 

1 (3.5 ounce) package instant pudding (I used vanilla) (I used a 6 1/2 serving box to hold up with the higher amount of cool whip...also, very cool because you can use whatever flavor you want!)

1 Cup Milk (If only using 8-ounces worth of cool whip, I would only use 3/4 cup of milk! I adding milk sparingly until I got the texture I wanted.) 

1 TSP Vanilla Extract (I only used to one TSP even though I used more of the other ingredients because I didn't want to have too strong of a vanilla flavor)

Directions:

1.) In a medium bowl, combine pudding mix with milk and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Gently fold in whipped topping until no streaks remain. Spread evenly over cake. 

Add the flour to a medium bowl

2 Cups of Flour in the bowl

Adding the baking soda to the same bowl

Adding the salt

Adding the cinnamon

Cinnamon in the bowl

Mixing the dry ingredients

Putting in three eggs into another bowl

Then, add the buttermilk

Adding the Coconut Oil and Vegetable Oil Mixture

Then, add the 1 1/2 cups of sugar

The sugar on top of everything else!

Dumping in that vanilla...

Adding the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients

Continuing to mix! I think it is almost done.

Now, in a separate bowl, add in the shredded carrots! 

Don't those really look beautiful?

Adding the coconut.

All of the coconut in the bowl!

Then, add the pineapple.

Three of a kind!

And now for a heaping cup of raisins!

Carrots, Coconut, Pineapple and Raisins

About to chop up the nuts! (I have always loved doing this part)

Now, adding in the chopped up nuts.

Mixing all of it together!

Now, mix in the carrot mixture with the actual batter. Make sure to throughly incorporate one another! 

I then evenly distributed the batter into two 9-inch round pans after greasing them. Into the oven they go!

Up close!

Right out of the oven! Smelling so good :)

Up close after baking! You can see all the ingredients almost. 

After being decorated and frosted. I crushed some more pecans and added them to the sides. 

Another view of finished cake.

Top of the cake.

Up close to inside of the cake. 

An actual slice! Yum Yum YUMMY!

Side View

Maybe we ate too much??...Nah. Not ENOUGH! :)

Look at all that deliciousness! Sooo moist...mmmmmnnn

All the hard work was well worth my Daddy's face. He couldn't get enough and I succeed at a carrot cake thanks to "Sam's Famous Carrot Cake" and "Cool Whipped Frosting." If you ever need a good carrot cake recipe...this should from now on be your go-to! Also, this frosting is fantastic and if you love Cool-Whip, well, you are totally set! 

What are some of your favorite birthday cake flavors? Let me know in the comments below!

Happy Birthday Daddy! I love you. 

˜Victoria˜

Old Bananas + A Stormy Day= My Family's Favorite Banana Bread!

Hi All!

Today is supposed to be a very stormy day. But, as usual, it seems our weathermen may have been a little off... so far only some clouds. Well, at least the radar is showing some storms later. I always get excited by storms, especially when they are accompanied by some thunder and lightening!

When I came down this AM I knew it was going to be another baking day, but I didn't know what to make. After scanning the kitchen, it was evident that the bananas on my kitchen counter needed to be used in some way. I, personally, am not the biggest fan of plain bananas. I like them on cereal, in bread, muffin, and cake form, covered in peanut butter, smooched between bread with some butter and also (believe it or not...on White Rice!) I know, I know...sounds gross, but trust me. Try it! It is delicious. 

Anyway, when I saw the bananas I knew exactly what to make: Banana Bread. The recipe I made is curtsy of my mother's dear friend Mishy. This is the only banana bread my mom will ever make and now; it is my duty to make it! This recipe is honestly very simple. Some may find it daunting because it is a "from scratch" recipe, but, truly, all you do is put the ingredients into a large bowl and give it a mix! My favorite part about this recipe is the consistency of the bread when finished baking. Many banana bread recipes struggle to get a moist, yet firm and flavorful texture and taste. This bread is a recipe that if you bring it to a party; you better have the recipe on hand because most people will want to know what went into the bread. This banana bread is a celebrity at any occasion and can be made in a pinch. The longest part of this recipe's process is the actual baking, which takes a hour. 

In my family, we have always made our banana bread with chocolate chips. But, the recipe can also be made plain or with nuts. It is a very good banana bread recipe, but it is definitely a dessert! It has two sticks of butter (at least this recipe makes two loaves...two sticks=two loaves :) 

Whether you are a fan of bananas or not, you should definitely try out this bread! If anything, it will make your house smell amazing and allow the worst baker to succeed at making a delicious treat! 

Below is my family's go-to recipe for Banana Bread thanks to Mishy! 

Ingredients:

2 Cups Sugar

2 1/2 Cups Flour

1/2 TSP. Salt

2 TSP Baking Soda

3 Cups Mashed (Very ripe) Bananas (about 7)... (For the banana breads pictured, I only had 5 large bananas, but it worked out fine!)

4 Eggs

1 Cup Butter 

Directions:

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.) Combine all ingredients 

3.) Grease two loaf pans

4.) Divide bowl's contents evenly into the two loaf pans

5.) Bake for an hour

6.) Let the bread cool for about a hour before eating/ cutting into. (Trust me...it tastes way better after cooling down!) 

Then,  add the 2 1/2 Cups of flour to the bowl. 

First, add the two cups of sugar to the bowl. 

Once you have done so, add the salt to the bowl.

Adding in the baking soda!

Look at those old bananas! Time to get transformed...

Peel the bananas so that they can get mushed!

Time to throw away the peels!

The fork will come in handy here!

MASH IT! MASH IT!

Put the mashed bananas contents into the large bowl. 

Time to add the eggs!

Make sure that there are no shells! 

Everything in the batter has been mixed. Now it is time to add the chocolate chips! 

Add 1 cup of desired chocolate chips, nuts etc. (I always do chocolate chips!) 

Dump those chocolate chips into the batter!

Incorporate the chocolate chips into the batter. 

Divide the batter into two loaf pans that have been greased. 

Put those babies into the oven! Bake @ 350 for 1 hour!

Right out of the oven!!! Smells so good. 

Don't they both look great?!

I had to cut  huge piece! It is just too good not to :)

I am going to sign off because the aroma of this bread is killing me! Off to go share some with family and enjoy some myself. Hope you guys make it and love it as much as my family does! 

Do you like putting chocolate chips and/or nuts into your banana bread? Or are you guys a fan of it plain? Let me know what you all add!

Enjoy!

˜Victoria˜