Tuesdays with Dorie 4 of 15

I didn't participate in last week's TWD - marshmallows just aren't my thing - even homemade. But this week's selection... WOW!

Amanda of slow like honey has chosen…

Bill’s Big Carrot Cake on pages 253-255

It is fantastic.

Cake baking is always a challenge - at least for me - at a mile high. Altitude has such an effect on leavening. The barometric pressure is so much less here that cakes will rise too high and lose their structure... I usually end up with a flat mess, or a dry and crumbly fiasco - It will rise too high and fall or won't be cohesive and crumble to bits.
Which is really a shame, because I've loved baking cakes in the past. My g'ma Fannie was a big-time cake baker... There was always a fresh cake in her kitchen when I would go visit on Sunday afternoons. She lived in the deep south so the cake was always accompanied by sweet tea. Yummo... good times, good times. I've tried making some of my favorites of hers, but just haven't had the success that she did.
Finally, a year or so ago, I took a class on baking at altitude - it was really pretty simple, reduce the leavening ( sugar, salt, baking powder) and increase the liquid/density ( water or oil - or add sour cream!) Since then, my baking has been a little more successful. But it always requires a little adjusting an I never really know how it will turn out.

This was no exception....
I realized that the carrots were going to give the cake the density that is required without adding my standard sour cream so that part was easy. I was a little distracted when I was making the cake realizing I had forgotten several key ingredients I had to make a dash to the store mid cake-making and ended up forgetting to add the salt and cinnamon - bummer. I remembered to cut down the baking powder, but forgot to decrease the sugar which I guess was ok since I totally excluded the salt.




The recipe recommended turning the cake and changing racks halfway through the baking time - which I did, but I may have moved them a little early - not sure, anyway two of the three cakes fell a little. you can see the slight sinking in the middle that I tried to disguise with more frosting in the divot. Yea, the middle of the slice was the best because it had the most of the yummy, and I mean YUMMY, cream cheese frosting. My only complaint is that there really wasn't enough.

I really think that leaving out the salt and cinnamon left the cake slightly bland and one dimensional - but only slightly... All-in-all this cake was a huge hit. Some friends came over for dessert Sunday evening and all loved it. The rest I took to work on Monday and folks really loved it. It didn't hurt that it happened to be a gals birthday so someone else brought in a store bought carrot cake - mine won the side-by-side comparison.

Now go check out the real bakers blogroll over at TWD

Here's the recipe for those of you looking for a lightly spiced (or not, if you forget a few ingredients) carrot cake with decadent cream cheese frosting with a tiny hint of lemon... so good!

Bill's Big Carrot Cake
Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Yields 10 servings

Ingredients:

For the cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
3 cups grated carrots (about 9 carrots, you can grate them in food processor fitted w/ a shredding a blade or use a box grater)
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
½ cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) or dried cranberries
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 large eggs

For the frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick ( 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 pound or 3 and ¾ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or ½ teaspoon pure lemon extract
½ cup shredded coconut (optional)
Finely chopped toasted nuts and/or toasted shredded coconut (optional)

Getting ready:
Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter three 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, flour the insides, and tap out the excess. Put the two pans on one baking sheet and one on another.

To make the cake:
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut, and raisins.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and oil together on a medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs one by one and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear. Gently mix the chunky ingredients. Divide the batter among the baking pans.
Bake for 40-50 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until a thin knife inserted into the centers comes out clean. The cakes will have just started to come away from the sides of the pans. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and unmold them. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.
The cakes can be wrapped airtight and kept at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.

To make the frosting:
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the lemon juice or extract.
If you'd like coconut in the filling, scoop about half of the frosting and stir the coconut into this position.

To assemble the cake:
Put one layer top side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. If you added the coconut to the frosting, use half of the coconut frosting to generously cover the first layer (or generously cover with plain frosting). Use an offset spatula or a spoon to smooth the frosting all the way to the edges of the layer. Top with the second layer, this time placing the cake stop side down, and frost with the remainder of the coconut frosting or plain frosting. Top with the last layer, right side up, and frost the top- and the sides- of the cake. Finish the top with swirls of frosting. If you want to top the cake with toasted nuts or coconut, sprinkle them on now while the frosting is soft.
Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes, just to set the frosting before serving.

Serving:
This cake can be served as soon as the frosting is set. It can also wait, at room temperature and covered with a cake keeper overnight. The cake is best served in thick slices at room temperature and while it's good plain, it's even better with vanilla ice cream or some lemon curd.

Storing:
The cake will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. It can also be frozen. Freeze it uncovered, then when it's firm, wrap airtight and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost, still wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator.