Carrot Spice Cake With Fresh Ginger and Cream Cheese Frosting

Yesterday was my sweet Doomy One’s birthday. The tradition in my family is that the birthday person gets to pick dinner and what kind of cake they want; Doomy didn’t have a dinner preference but wanted one of my carrot cakes. I figured what the heck, time to test all the improvements and tweaks I’ve been making, all in one cake. This cake came out perfect, moist with a good crumb. Sweet but not too sweet. The frosting uses about half of the sugar most recipes call for and the hint of citrus plays nicely with the spices.

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 1 stick (1/2C )of unsalted butter or substitute, softened
• 1 C of vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs. or substitue
• 1 C brown sugar
• 1 C white sugar
• 3 C Grated Carrots
• 1/2 inch fresh ginger peeled and finely grated
• 1 Tbsp Hot Damn, or Fireball Whiskey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 C All Purpose Flour, or flour blend of choice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp Cardamom, ground
• 3-4 tsp Cinnamon (I grind mine from sticks for this recipe 3-4 sticks)
• 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
• 1 8oz block cream cheese, softened
• 3 drops of lemon extract (optional) or juice of half a lemon or lime
• 2 C confectioners sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350f and spray cake pans with oil.

In a mixer cream the butter and sugar until they get fluffy and lighten in color. Add the eggs in one at a time, letting them incorporate before adding the next one. Slowly add the oil, extracts, and liquor.

Then mix in the grated carrot and ginger

In another bowl (I use the one I grate the carrot into) whisk together all the dry ingredients until combined

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet slowly. About 1/3 at a time. Mix until just combined and divide between the prepared cake pans.

Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool in pan for about 10 minutes then cool the rest of the way on racks.

While you are waiting for the cakes to cool it’s time to make the frosting.

Cream together the butter and cream cheese until they start getting fluffy. Add the extract or juice slowly while mixing on a low setting.

Very slowly begin adding the confectioners sugar 1/2 C at a time and allow to fully incorporate before adding more. Once all the sugar is adding whip on high for 5 minutes. Frost the cake once it is fully cooled.

And a bonus shot of the birthday boy and I on our last date night.

Gluten Free Carrot Cake Breakfast Cookies (Vegan Friendly) with Oat, Chia, and Flax

When I was 3 I walked up to the breakfast table one morning and declared to my Mama that “I don’t eat porridge!” She always wondered where that came from, but to this day the sight/ texture of cooked oatmeal grosses me right out. I’ve tried numerous times over the years to get past it, but I just can’t. Lucky for me that it’s not the only way to get the health benefits of oats. These little cookies are like little nutrient bombs, that taste like junk food. These are gluten free, and can be completely vegan just by swapping out the honey with more maple syrup. I think next time I make these I’ll replace the nut butter with apple sauce or something.

Ingredients:

Wet Team:

• 1/4 C each raw honey and maple syrup
• 1/4 – 1/2 C brown sugar (optional)
• 2 large carrots grated
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 C nut butter (I used chunky peanut butter)
• 1/2 C water + 1/4 C in reserve

Dry Team

• 1/4 C flax meal
• 1/4 C chia seeds, ground
• 1/2 C Almond Meal
• 1 C Oat Flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 T cinnamon (To taste, we love cinnamon)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350. In a large mixing bowl (I use a stand mixer) mix the wet ingredients together. they should look about like this.

In another bowl whisk all the dry team together (I do all my grinding in a spice grinder as I go)

Mix the dry into the wet, about 1/3 of the mix at a time. Because it’s gluten free you don’t really need to stress about over mixing. It should look like a wet cookie dough, if it’s dry add the reserved water.

Using a small disher (I used a #40 scoop) scoop dough onto parchment lined cookie sheets and bake 15-20 minutes until they’re set.

Cool and store in tightly sealed container. Grab on the way out the door or in my case on the way into the home office!

Cinnamon Sugar Coated Buttermilk Donut Muffins

I know, I know doughnut muffins are so 2011. But hear me out there is no time that the tasty treat known as the donut won’t be wonderful. When I was growing up Mama made us donuts all the time as a treat, she’d fry biscuit dough in an old metal coffee can she kept special for the job. After they were golden and crispy she’d roll them in cinnamon sugar. Now that she’s not here to make them for me, I had to do my best to recreate the flavors without a fry rig. (Seriously, it’s hard to find metal coffee cans these days!) If you try these let me know how you like them.

Ingredients:

Wet Team:

• 3/4 C sugar. (I usually mix 1/2 C white sugar and 1/4 C brown sugar)
• I large egg
• 3/4 C Buttermilk
• 1/4 C vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

 Dry Team:

• 1 3/4 C Flour- I usually mix AP and cake flours
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Coating (Or substitute with just under 1/4 C of your favorite cinnamon sugar recipe) 

• 1/4 C Sugar
• 2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 pinch nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 and lightly spray muffin pan with oil (I usually get 10-12 muffins from this mix)

In a large bowl, or your mixer beat together the egg and sugar until lightened in color. Pour in the rest of the wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.

In another bowl whisk or sift together all the dry ingredients. Slowly pour dry team into the wet team and mix until it just comes together.

Dish into muffin tin and bake 15-18 minutes until a toothpick in center comes out clean. Cool briefly.

While muffins cool combine coating in either a bowl or zip top bag. Toss muffins in one and a time and toss or roll around until coated to your desired level. Let cool on a plate or rack.

Devour. I am really fond of them with a cup of hot tea or coffee.