Kitchen Sink Carrot Cake

What do you get when you throw everything but the kitchen sink into a batter? Carrot Cake. And a super delicious one at that.

Since I'm pregnant, I resisted the urge to lick the spatula, bowl and my fingers but oh it was tough not to sneak a taste.
Then I had to stare at it all day and wait for after dinner with the family to dig in. Although I may have tried a little piece before I frosted it....shhhhhh don't tell anyone.

Yum, I may have to make another one just for myself.

Kitchen Sink Carrot Cake
by Joy The Baker

Ingredients


3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

1 3/4 cups vegetable oil

1 cup crushed pineapple, drained

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 1/4 cups grated carrots

1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1/4 cup raisins or dried cranberries (optional)

1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe below)

Directions

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10- or 12-cup Bundt pan or two 9-inch round pans and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, yolk, and sugars. Blend with a whisk until well incorporated and slightly thickened. Add the oil and carefully incorporate. This part could get a little splashy. Add the crushed pineapple and vanilla, and stir until incorporated.

Add the pineapple mixture, all at once, to the flour mixture. Fold together with a spatula. When almost incorporated, fold in the carrots, coconut, and (if desired) raisins or cranberries and nuts. Fold until evenly blended. Pour cake batter into prepared pan(s) and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cake cool in pan for 15 minutes before inverting on a wire rack to cool completely before frosting with Cream Cheese Frosting. Bake cake layers for 28 to 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Bake Bundt for 45 to 55 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.


Cream Cheese Frosting:

Makes enough to frost one 2-layer 8- or 9-inch cake or 24 cupcakes

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

Pinch of salt

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Variations:

1 vanilla bean

1/2 cup chocolate hazelnut spread

1 tablespoon lemon juice plus 2 teaspoons lemon zest

Place cream cheese in the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat the cream cheese for about 1 minute, ensuring that it is soft and pliable. Stop the mixer and use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the butter to the bowl. Beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed for 1 minute, until thoroughly combined.

Turn the mixer on low and add the salt and powdered sugar followed by the vanilla extract. Beat until almost incorporated.

Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl. Beat on medium speed until all of the powdered sugar has disappeared and mixture is velvety soft.

Use immediately by spreading on a layer cake or cupcakes. If not using immediately, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before spreading on cakes. Frosting will last, in an airtight container, in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.

From JOY THE BAKER by Joy Wilson. Copyright (c) 2012 Joy Wilson.

Trail Mix Cookies

Cookies are definitely my favorite thing to bake. The possibilites are endless, the process is fairly simple and I've yet to have a recipe be inedible. I've been baking my way thru Joy the Baker's cookbook and her Trail Mix Cookies are so yummy. This is one of those recipes that you can add or subtract the ingredients based on your preferences. For example, I didn't have any M&Ms so I used chocolate chips. I also really like coconut in my trail mix so I added a cup of shredded coconut to the mix. The results were delicious.

Trail Mix Cookies


Adapted from the Joy the Baker Cookbook

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup (2 sticks/8oz) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated cane sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup (6oz) peanut butter chips

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup peanuts

1 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup golden raisins

Directions

1. Place a rack in the center and upper third of the oven and preheat to 350F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and set aside.

3. In the bowl of an electric hand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using a good amount of elbow grease and a wooden spoon), cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (about 3 to 5 minutes). Add the eggs one at a time, beating on medium speed for 1 minute between each addition. Stop the mixer and scrape down the bowl as necessary. Beat in the vanilla until incorporated.

4. Stop the mixer and add the flour mixture all at once. Beat on low speed until just incorporated. Then add the peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, peanuts, coconut and raisins. Turn on mixer again and beat the additions at low speed until just incorporated. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and finish incorporating (get those loose batter pieces at the bottom of the bowl), the cookie batter with a spatula.

5. Using a cookie scoop, scoop out dough and place on prepared cookie sheet (if you don’t have a cookie scoop use a tablespoon, scoop out dough, and roll it between palms to make dough balls).

6. Bake for about 13 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the cookie sheet for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.

Kahlua Spiked Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I always seem to have a couple of overly brown bananas in the house. Probably since we refuse to eat a banana with a couple of brown spots on it; oh we are so spoiled. I hate to throw out perfectly good food so I end up making a lot of banana bread thus trying a lot of different recipes. Joy the Baker has a really good one for bourbon-spiked  (I don't drink bourbon anymore due to a nauseating 21st birthday incident so I don't keep it in the house) but I did have Kahlua and I figured it would work just as well, and it did. Yay!

Kahlua Spiked Banana Chocolate Chip Mini-Muffins
adapted from Joy the Baker

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups (about 3) mashed ripe bananas
• 3 tablespoons Kahlua
• 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and place a rack in the center of the oven. Place mini-muffin cups in a 24 min-muffin pan. You will have batter left over. I used a small baking loaf pan to use up the rest.

2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

3. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating for 1 minute between additions. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the bananas and Kahlua and beat with the paddle until well incorporated. The mixture may look curdled, but that’s okay.

4. Turn the mixer to low, add the flour mixture all at once, and beat until almost completely incorporated. Stop the mixer add the chocolate chips, and stir by hand with a spatula or wooden spoon just until incorporated. Spoon the mixture into the mini-muffin cups.

5. Bake until a toothpick inserted in one of the muffins comes out clean, approx 15 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 20 minutes before putting them onto a wire rack and letting it cool completely, if you can manage to keep your hands off them for that amount of time. Enjoy!

Do you like you bananas with brown spots or without?

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

So the only way I'd ever go back to making chocolate chips cookies without browing the butter is if I'm too lazy to turn on the stove. These are so so good. The nutty caramel taste the browned butter gives them is just addictive. I have a cookie with my lunch, a cookie as a snack, a cookie with my dinner and on and on. So not good for bathing suit season coming up. Oh well, that's what a cover-up is for.

The recipe is from Joy The Baker's cookbook. I found a similar one on her website, but I recommend you buy the book.

Have you ever baked with browned butter?

Chili Cheese Fries

The best thing about these fries, other than the delicious taste, they're baked-not fried. Which means you can eat more, right? Any reason for me to indulge in potatoes is a good reason to me. Of course, you'll have to ignore the calorie count of the cheese but you could omit it and the fries would still be delicious. The recipe is another hit for Joy the Baker. I can't seem to get enough of her cookbook.

Cocoa Almond Granola

I've only had my Joy the Baker cookbook for a little over a month and I've already made this granola twice. It's delicious. I use it in our morning parfaits with strawberries, bananas and yogurt. I love that it's not too sweet and it has just a hint of chocolate. Not enough to taste like dessert but enough to feel like I'm indulging a little bit.

Have you ever made your own granola?

Lemon-Lime and Thyme Cookies

First let me say, Happy Easter! What are your plans today?
I'm up early making potato salad for lunch after church.
This is the first year since I was a kid that I have a proper Easter dress. I can't wait to wear it. Do you dress up for Easter?
Need a treat for today.....
Lemon-Lime and Thyme Cookies are the perfect Spring treat. Almost a shortbread cookie but not with a crunchy. The flavor will have your friends asking "hmmmmm,what is in this?"

The recipe, from Joy the Baker, suggests a method of combining the zests and sugar in a way that brings out the essential oils and perfumes the sugar. The link is to her website for Citrus Sables, a similar recipe without the thyme.

While her recipe calls for forming the dough into a log and cutting circles, I had some extra time so I rolled out the dough and made flowers. Fun and festive for Spring.

Happy Easter!

Potato Zucchini Cakes- Joy the Baker

I have found my new favorite cookbook and it's written by Joy from Joy the Baker. Every picture has me drooling and running to the kitchen. Thank you so much to Deb at Kahakai Kitchen for sending it to me. A message to friends and family- you'll be receiving this cookbook on your birthday, it's that good.
The first thing I made and will be making many more times- Potato Zucchini Cakes. I couldn't find the recipe on Joy's website and I hesitate to share it because of copyright issues so please go buy the book. You won't be dissappointed.

Topped with sour cream and paprika. Every bite is crispy-savory-deliciousness.

Here are the cakes frying beautifully in oil.

And another close-up of yumminess. May I suggest making these for Easter or Passover?

Do you have Joy's cookbook? What have you made?