05 AprEaster Dessert: Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake by Pen Waggener. Photograph.

I love baking. It’s usually faster than cooking and the end-product is so yummy! With Easter coming quickly, I thought I’d share with you a fabulous carrot cake recipe, courtesy of Alton Brown and the Food Network. None of Alton’s recipes have ever let me down, so he’s definitely one of my go-to chefs when I’m looking for a good recipe.

I won’t write out the recipe here since you can find all of Alton Brown’s Carrot Cake instructions on the Food Network website. But I’ll give you my important notes about the recipe.

1. You want to make this cake during the day (or even the day before). It takes three hours to make, though much of that time doesn’t require your attention.

2. Read through the whole recipe before you start. This is the best way to make anything – promise! It’s saved me so many awful mistakes.

3. Prepare the carrots and grind the nutmeg (the fresh nutmeg isn’t imperative, but it makes the cake that much more special!) before you start mixing anything. Bake the cake, following the recipe instructions. While the cake is baking, you can make the frosting which is perfectly delicious! It’s not too cream-cheesy but not too sweet.

4. For the frosting, you can substitute a vanilla bean for the vanilla extract for a really great treat. Just slice open the bean lengthwise and use the blunt side of a knife to scrape out the bean and put the insides in the mixer.

Inspiring thoughts,
Laura