Carrot Cake Two Ways

I have a thing for Carrot Cake.  It places second for my affection just behind the combination of chocolate and peanut butter anything.

Well, maybe third behind anything with Nutella.  But I digress ...

When I was a kid, my mom would always let us pick what our birthday meal was going to be.  For about 8 years in a row, it was the exact same thing.  Lasagna and Carrot Cake.  I am sort of a creature of habit.  Comes with that type A personality.  Since I love Carrot Cake so much, I started thinking about MORE ways I could enjoy it.  Because, really, I can’t eat cake every day. 

Well, I could, but then I would have to let my kids eat cake every day and that’s not good for them. 

Unless I sneak it after bedtime, like the hubby and I do with our weekly monthly DQ Blizzards, but that is a post for another time. 

Ahem, back to Carrot Cake.  Today, you, our fabulous, readers, get Carrot Cake two ways.  First up, Carrot Cake Pancakes.  Sound good?  It was kinda like dessert for breakfast.*  The pancakes turned out light and fluffy and really tasted like Carrot Cake.  I am sure the pineapple cream cheese "syrup" helped that along!  The kids loved them and so did I! 

 

Tropical Carrot Cake Pancakes

Heavily Adapted from Cooking Channel TV

Pancake Ingredients:

1  Cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

½ tsp salt

1 large egg

1  Cup buttermilk
3T Brown Sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

1 Cup lightly packed grated carrots (about 3 medium carrots)

½ Cup crushed pineapple, drained

1/3 Cup coconut

Directions:

Whisk together first 6 ingredients in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, sugar, and vanilla.  Add carrots to liquid mixture and mix until smooth.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.  Mix until just combined.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Heat non stick skillet over medium heat.  Coat the skillet with non stick spray.  Spoon ¼ cup into pan.  Cook until tops are covered with bubbles (and bubbles are bursting) and edges look done.  Flip.  Repeat.

Pineapple Cream Cheese "Syrup" Ingredients:

 

4 oz cream cheese, softened

1/4 Cup Powdered Sugar

1T Milk

2T Pineapple Juice

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

 

Beat cream cheese until smooth.  Add remaining ingredients and beat until light and fluffy.  Too thick?  Add more milk/pineapple juice.  Too thin?  Add more powdered sugar. 

 

**************

The second treat we have for you today is Carrot Cake.  As much as I love it, I have actually never made a Carrot Cake that I would make again.  They have all been so/so.  Try try again, that is our motto.  This one, this one is a keeper.  It is everything Carrot Cake should be, moist and delicious!

 

Start with all this: 

 

 

I forgot one thing in this picture ... who can guess what it is????  It is an important ingredient!



If you guessed carrots, you get 10,000 points.  But just like Drew Carey used to say in Whose Line is it Anyway, "It's all made up and the points don't matter!

 

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Mix the wet ingredients in another.  Put them together.  Combine gently.



Seriously, look at all that good stuff!!

 

Pour into two 9" round pans and bake.

 

Cool, frost, decorate and Voila, you have delicious Carrot Cake!

 

 

 

Tropical Carrot Cake

Slightly adapted from Allrecipes.com

Cake Ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

3 large eggs

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups carrot, finely grated

8 oz crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup coconut

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup raisins

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

In a large bowl, combine first 5 ingredients.  Set aside

In another large bowl, beat together eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk, and vanilla.  Beat until smooth.  Add the dry ingredients and beat on low until combined.  Fold in carrots, nuts, coconut, pineapple, and raisins. 

Pour batter in to two greased 9" round pans.  Bake for aprox. 35 to 40 minutes.  Until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Allow to cool.

Icing ingredients:

16 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup butter

2 to 3 cups of powdered sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

Combine cream cheese, butter and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.  Add 2 cups of sugar and beat on high until combined and fluffy.  Add more sugar to taste.

It wouldn't be Easter without Carrot Cake - we hope you enjoy it!

*I realize that in our intro post that we said we would lean towards the healthy.  Really, we weren’t lying.  90% of the time, we only eat what is good for us.  Well, you know, minus the blizzard run and Bryn’s slight obsession with Mike and Ike candy.  Like I said, 90% of the time.  Next week, we’ll get to the healthy part, pinky swear!