Oh yeah. I am so geeked.
Revel in the seventies awesomeness.
I will be able to slice and dice and grate and mix like nobody's business. I'll have to make sure I post pics of the incredible foodness that is sure to follow.
Whatever.
You know you're jealous.
But just cause I love you, I'll post pics of (and the general recipe for) the cake I made for MIL's 50th birthday, anyway. Pre-processor, of course, which just makes it even cooler. (Things 1&2 were soon un-thrilled with being allowed to use the grater, let me tell you... 4 cups of carrots is a lot!)
Crazy-good Carrot Cake*
4 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup applesauce
1/4 c oil
1/2 cup raisins, ~just~ covered in water and microwaved for 30 seconds, then drained
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs, lightly beaten-? (I think I added eggs; I honestly can't remember.)
Mix dry ingredients, and sift together. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients together well, then add to 'dry' bowl. Mix thoroughly, but quickly - Pour batter into greased and floured cake pan(s), bake in 350-degree oven for approximately one hour, or until toothpick inserted into middle of cake comes out clean.
*All amounts are approximate - I looked up a bunch of carrot cake recipes online, and then took the ingredients I wanted and a few I thought should be included, and guessed on how to best put them together. Feel free to use all whole wheat or all white flour, all white or all brown sugar, whatever you happen to like better, with the understanding that results may vary. My cake rose well, and was moist without being sticky.
Frosting (well, kind of)
I made a fondant-type frosting- for the first time! I used the same method as above, researching fondant and then just flying by the seat of my pants. It was delicious - but sweet!
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup margarine or softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
dash salt
2lb. bag of 10x confectioner's (powdered) sugar
Combine honey, vanilla, and butter completely, add salt and slowly sift powdered sugar into the mix (I added it by the 1/2 cup), stirring until completely mixed after each time. Eventually (after about 2 cups for me) the mix will be more solid and almost doughy. When this happens, put the dough in the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour. Remove frosting, lightly dust a smooth surface (I just used the counter, but a cold pastry marble would be awesome for this) with sifted powdered sugar and knead more sugar into the dough. When the dough begins to look more flat than glossy, it should be about done. This part you'll just have to experiment with, because you want it to be dry enough to handle, but wet enough to not crack as you drape it on the cake.
I frosted the cake very lightly with store bought cream cheese frosting, then rolled out sections of my frosting and covered the whole cake. They don't have to be perfect, you can trim them and mold the edges together!
With the left over icing, I kneaded food color into it, rolled it out and used a cookie cutter to make the stars (I found an easier way to do it after I was finished - of course- but that's another post) which I then placed strategically over areas where the frosting was less than smooth.
(One caveat - be careful with poking toothpicks into the cake, or wrapping it - this frosting is like play clay, and stays partially malleable the whole time. If you look closely, you can see the wrinkles where I tightly wrapped this with plastic wrap to keep it in place during the 1-1/2 hour drive to MIL's party!)
Ta-daaa!
