Here’s the carrot cake recipe that I left off of the last post. My little sister gave me the recipe originally and I’m not sure where she found it. I’ve changed up the spices from the original by using 3 kinds of cinnamon and adding cloves, allspice, 5 spice powder, and coriander. I also modified the directions and the cream cheese frosting a bit.

This makes one of the best carrot cakes I’ve ever had- moist, light textured and flavorful- sweet but not overly sweet.

Carrot Cake Supreme- Gabi’s version

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon Cassia cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Saigon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Ceylon cinnamon
• large pinch each of : ground cloves, 5 spice powder, allspice, ground coriander
• 3 large eggs
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups finely grated carrot
• one 8 ounce can crushed pineapple, lightly drained
• 1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted and cooled
• Buttermilk Glaze, recipe follows
• Cream cheese frosting, recipe follows
• 2 cups toasted chopped pecans and chopped salted shelled pistachios mixed
• Marshmallow fondant (I use Peggy’s recipe which has a good flavor and texture and is easy to make) and paste and powdered food colors for decoration. You’ll need a clean new small pointed tip artist’s paintbrush and some lemon extract for thinning it.

Grease three 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment, grease and flour parchment. Stir together the flour, baking soda, salt and spices. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk and vanilla extract until smooth. Add the flour mixture and blend just until combined. Fold in the carrot, pineapple, coconut and pecans. Pour evenly into prepared pans. Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  (15 minutes before cake is finished baking start the buttermilk syrup below) Remove to a rack and let sit a couple of minutes. Run a straight edged knife around the edges of the pan and remove the cakes parchment side down to a cooling rack set over a sheet pan or a piece of parchment paper. Drizzle the glaze over the cake rounds ( you will have almost half of the glaze left over after doing this- but it’s great as a topping on vanilla ice cream with salted peanuts- drool! etc. ) Let the rounds cool completely on the rack. Remove the parchment rounds from each layer and frost with Cream Cheese Frosting. Chill cake for several hours but remove from the fridge about a 1/2 hour before serving for full flavor. Store in the fridge tightly covered.

Buttermilk Glaze

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 Tablespoon light corn syrup
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Place all except the vanilla in a medium, heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium heat. Boil 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until glaze is golden- it will foam up and cook for a while and suddenly turn color so don’t leave it at all- stir constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla extract. Cool slightly before glazing the cakes- see note above.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 16 ounces softened cream cheese
• 3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) butter, softened
• 14 ounces powdered confectioner’s sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Beat the cream cheese with the butter until smooth, whisk or sift the powdered sugar to remove any lumps and add. Blend until smooth. Add the vanilla extract, beat at low speed until light and fluffy.

Remove the parchment from the cakes and place one layer glaze side up on a cardboard round or a serving plate top with a layer of cream cheese frosting. Place a second layer glaze side up and frost the top of it, top with the last layer glaze side down on the frosting. Frost the top and sides of the cake evenly and smoothly, use an offset spatula if you have one and go slowly so you don’t pick up crumbs. Press the finely chopped pecans and pistachios onto the sides all the way around.

Roll out a ball of marshmallow fondant, uncolored, and using the clean bottom of one of your cake pans as a guide, cut a circle to fit the top of the cake. Using paste and powdered food colorings with a bit of lemon extract to thin on your brush, use a small new clean pointed artist’s paintbrush to paint Peter Rabbit using brown, blue, pale pink, white and gold food colorings. Mix some powdered orange food coloring (or yellow and red to make orange)  into a small ball of fondant to make carrots. Break off a small piece and add more red to make the radishes. Mix green powdered food coloring (or blue and yellow to make green) into another ball to make leaves and small cabbages or Brussels sprouts. Form these into the vegetable decorations then paint highlights and shadows with white and brown food colorings- use dark green for the leaf veins. Use melted chocolate, ganache or icing to write whatever message you want using a decorator bag and tip or a cornet made from parchment.

Whew! Hope you enjoy!