Carrot Cake/Cupcakes

This is going to sound super egocentric, but I only started liking carrot cake when I started making it myself.
The carrot cake I have had in the past has ALWAYS been really dry (probably because the person who made it was trying to stay on the healthier side of things)
Well, not me. At least, not when I bake.
And, in all fairness, I seldom indulge in the desserts I make. I watch others lick their plates and imagine how delicious it is.
So, to me personally, it matters not how many calories are in my creations.
Only that they taste amazing and make people dance in place.
What is the point in eating sweet treats if they aren’t worth every extra calorie you are consuming?
There is nothing worse than cheating and immediately regretting doing so because it wasn’t really worth it.
Well, I promise you, this recipe is TO DIE FOR delicious.

Again, this is not diet food.

Carrots or no carrots.

There are 3 sticks of butter and two cups of sugar and we haven’t even started on the icing yet…the icing that not only tops these adorable cupcakes, but that I injected into the centers using this new handy dandy tool from Williams-Sonoma:
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/mechanical-pastry-bag/

Holy Sh*t That’s Good Carrot Cake (or Cupcakes!)

Ingredients

3 sticks SALTED BUTTER
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons nutmeg
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
4 large eggs
5 cups grated carrots (I use 6 sometimes)
1 cup food processor chopped pecans
1/2 cup golden rainsins
1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut

Crazy Delicious Cream Cheese Icing:

16 ounces cream cheese
2 stick unsalted butter
2 (1-pound) boxes of confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
(you will probably have a lot of icing left over if you make cupcakes, but if you decide to do 2 layer cakes, you will have a perfect amount)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

If making cupcakes, this recipe makes 24 big cupcakes!
Spray with cooking spray, or butter 2 cupcake/muffin pans, or use foil liners.
If making a layer cake, butter 3 (9-inch) cake pans.
In a large bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer. Add the sugar, and beat. In a medium bowl or on a piece of parchment, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well.

Add the dry ingredients, alternating with the eggs, beating well after the addition of each. Add the vanilla extract and mix. Add the carrots and beat on medium speed until well incorporated, about 2 minutes. Fold in the nuts, coconut, and raisins. Divide between the 3 cake pans and bake until set and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

(cupcakes will take the same amount of time, 25-30 minutes)
Remove from the oven and let rest in the cake/cupcake pans for 10 minutes.
Invert onto wire racks, remove from the pans, and let cool.

For The Frosting:

In a large bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
Add the sugar gradually, beating constantly. Add the vanilla last.

Refrigerate icing for at least 25 minutes.

When the cake is cool, place 1 cake layer on a cake plate or stand. Spread the top with cream cheese frosting and top with a second and third cake layer, spreading the icing between each layer. Spread the icing around the sides of the cake and let harden slightly before serving.

If making cupcakes, pipe the icing onto the tops of the cooled cupcakes as desired using and sprinkle with leftover chopped pecans.

(Refrigerate!)

Strawberry Genoise Cake!

I have some very sad news.
I broke my camera…Er…Drowned it.
In tea. It’s ruined. Basically. Yeah. Ruined.
I have some backlogged photos & blog entries, but after that, its just me and the ole iPhone pictures until I get a new camera.

This is one of those entries.

Le sigh.

Obviously, I’m really sad about it, and consequently I have been baking up a storm to cope.
But then, I can’t take proper photos of my creations, and the pain sets back in.

No camera = difficult food blogging.

It’s an unfortunate situation.

What can I do but start saving my money!!??
Nothing. So I’m going to suck it up and keep on keepin on!

I’m BEYOND ready for Spring, and have been for some time now, but Nashville weather has simply refused to oblige me.
Sooooo…. I decided to make a light and refreshing dessert to perhaps coax Spring into my arms!

I give you, my first attempt at Strawberry Genoise Cake!
(It’s basically a fancier Strawberry Shortcake.)

I changed a few things from the recipe. I mixed the chopped up strawberries with a few teaspoons of sugar and stirred them up until they started getting syrupy. THEN I added them to the whipped cream set aside for the filling. Make sure not to pack too many strawberries in there!
I also sweetened my cream a bit more than the recipe called for.
I also added colored sugar to the top!!!

It was delicious!!

My boyfriend definitely thought so!

I definitely need to learn how to make my desserts prettier.

But they sure do taste MIGHTY FINE Y’ALL!

Strawberry Genoise Cake

Ingredients:

For the Genoise:

4 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup cake flour, sifted
3 tbsp. (1.5 oz./42g) unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling and Finish:

2 cups heavy cream
2 tsp. confectioners’ sugar
3 cups strawberries, hulled and cut into 1/2-inch slices, plus 6 strawberries, halved lengthwise, for garnish
Extra Sugar to sweeten cream if not sweet enough!!

Instructions:

To Make the Genoise:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F/180 degrees C. Line the bottom of a 9 x 3-inch round cake pan with parchment paper.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the eggs and granulated sugar by hand until combined. Place the bowl over but not touching simmering water in a saucepan. Gently whisk until the mixture registers 140 degrees F/60 degrees C on an instant-read thermometer, about 3 minutes. Put the bowl on the mixer and beat with the whisk on high speed until the mixture is pale and almost tripled in volume, 5 to 8 minutes.

Remove the bowl from the mixer. Sift the flour over the egg mixture in 2 additions and carefully fold in with a large rubber spatula. Fold a large dollop into the melted butter, then fold back into the egg mixture.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until the top of the cake is browned, about 20 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Run a table knife around the edge of the pan and invert the cake onto a work surface. Turn the cake right side up, leaving the parchment paper in place. Cut the cake into 2 equal layers. Put the top layer, cut side up, on a serving plate.

To Make the Filling and Finish:

Whip the cream and confectioners’ sugar to soft peaks. Place the sliced strawberries in a bowl. Fold about one-fourth of the cream into the berries. Spread the mixture evenly on top of the cake. Position the remaining cake layer, cut side down, on top. Spread the top and sides of the cake with the remaining whipped cream.

NOW EAT IT WITH YOUR FACE!!!

Doggieyummy: Orijen Dogfood & Primal Raw Bones

If you read my blog regularly, then you already know that I am lucky enough to eat yummy food pretty much every day. I like to extend this luxury to my pets as well, because they are basically my children and I want them to live a long life! Sake, my shih-tzu, was on a RAW diet (raw meat, bones, cartilage, and veggies) the first two years of his life and I credit this diet for keeping him extremely healthy.
Most shih-tzus develop allergies and have skin issues, but he has yet to have any problems! Yay!
(crossing fingers)

Nina is a mixed breed shelter pup and is hearty and healthy despite her love of eating anything and everything in sight (aluminum foil, wood, carpet, toilet paper, candle wax…you name it..)

(Aren’t they just ridiculously cute!?)

I feed them a lot of meat, veggies, and fruit as a part of their diet, but I also feed them dry dog food because it’s simply less time consuming.

But, I don’t feed them crap dog food. I feed them the best I can buy.
And this means high quality ingredients, low or no grain (dog’s have no ancestral need for grains) high meat content, fruits, vegetables, herbs, and fish oil.
And yeah, it’s kind of expensive.
But these two dogs are my kids.
It’s amazing and they love it so much they do back flips when it’s time to eat.

Seriously.
Backflips.

I rotate between feeding them Evo Red Meat Small Bite:

http://www.naturapet.com/brands/evo.asp

And Orijen 6-Fish Formula:

http://www.orijen.ca/orijen/about/

The Orijen 6-fish formula is in my opinion, the best dry dog food on the market.
The list of ingredients reads better than my typical day of nutrient intake.

(Fresh deboned salmon, salmon meal, herring meal, russet potato, fresh deboned lake whitefish, sweet potato, peas, salmon oil (preserved with vitamin E), fresh deboned walleye, fresh deboned herring, sun-cured alfalfa, fresh deboned flounder, fresh deboned lake trout, dehydrated organic kelp, pumpkin, carrots, spinach, turnip greens, apples, cranberries, saskatoon berries, black currants, choline chloride, psyllium, licorice root, angelica root, fenugreek, marigold flowers, sweet fennel, peppermint leaf, chamomile flowers, dandelion, summer savory, rosemary, sea salt, vitamin supplements (vitamin A, vitamin D3, vitamin E, niacin, vitamin C, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, folic acid, biotin, vitamin B12), mineral supplements (zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, selenium), dried Lactobacillus acidophilus product, dried Enterococcus faecium fermentation product.)

See? That’s great stuff in there. No chicken fat filler, corn meal filler, Wheat gluten, or any other BS dogs don’t need. It’s stuff they would find in the wild if they weren’t snuggling me on the sofa.

That price tag is for the 15 lb vacuum sealed bag from the only local dog boutique I know of in Nashville that sells it.
I’m sure you can also order it online, but I get mine here because I also love to support my local business owners!

Wags & Whiskers:
http://www.wagsandwhiskersnashville.com/

I worked at a veterinarian office for a couple of years and learned a lot about canine nutrition and holistic approaches to medicine and diet. I know that some people can feed their dog’s purina dog chow and pop tarts and whatever they want and still have their dog live to be 17, but I strongly believe that my dogs will live long and happy lives eating food that truly nourishes them.
I am so lucky to have had the experience working at the Animal Hospital because I was able to see how amazing things can happen to animals if you alter their diet.
Dogs would come in losing teeth, hair, and itching like crazy. After adjusting their food to something comparable Evo or Orijen and adding raw meat, cartilage, bones, and fish oil, these sick dogs would come back 6 weeks later looking like champions. It was truly astounding to see.

Here is a close-up of the Orijen 6-fish formula kibble:

I even enlisted my brave boyfriend to taste-test the kibble. He said it was okay, but weird.
Haha!
Yeah, it’s dog food.

I also try to switch up their food every few months from the 6 fish formula to the red meat Orijen offering or even the Evo (if they are out of Orijen for some reason).
I think my dogs like the variety as well.
(I can usually tell by the obsessive humping of the dog food bag)

I also get these amazing RAW bones at Wags & Whiskers!
(They are located in the back freezer by the doggy wash bathtubs)
These are so good for fulfilling chewing urges and cleaning your pup’s teeth!

They come in different sizes, there are 4-8 bones per bag depending on the size.
Priced at Wags & Whiskers for $6.99-$8.99

Hug and kiss your pups and FEED THEM WELL!!