Thank you for all of the nice comments everyone left. Mom is doing better! The accident happened a week ago, but it feels like a month. Now comes the insurance problems, bills, and lawyers.
The judging panel came together, on Easter, and picked out our St. Paddy's Day Pub Crawl winners.
It was a tough decision. We were stuck in a hot room, all day, trying to come to an agreement. There was constant bickering, pacing, and some people started throwing items across the room.
I slammed my hands down on the table, and said, "By golly, we've got to come to a decision, here, people! A bead of sweat trickled down my forehead. "I know we have a lot of great entries, but there can only be one winner!"
My sister asked, "Can't we have two first place winners?"
I raced across the room and grabbed my sister by the collar. "NO!" Then I shook her a couple of times.
Finally, we chose our winners:
1st Place: Wendy from The Cupcakery with Chocolate Guinness Stout Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache and Bailey's Irish Cream Buttercream Swirl!
2nd Place: Peabody from Culinary Concoctions by Peabody with Chocolate Stout Creme "Brew"lee
3rd Place: Peter G. from Souvlaki For The Soul with Baileys Irish Cream Ice Cream
Congratulations to Wendy! You've won a prize! Ding ding ding.
The judging panel was impressed with your cupcakes...you did a great job!!!
Now on to the carrot cake-
I made this carrot cake, when I came home from work, on Saturday night. I started at 11:15 PM, and I was finished at 2:00 AM. At first, I decided I was going to use a recipe, but then I just decided to make up my own, because I wasn't feeling the recipe. It turned out well! Everyone seemed to enjoy it on Easter. It was very moist, and delicious. Isn't cream cheese frosting the best?! I'll answer that for you.
Printable Recipe
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
1/4 cup (1/2 a stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup canola oil
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
3 cups grated carrot (peeled)
1 cup finely chopped pineapple
3/4 cup finely chopped pecans, toasted
Frosting:
12 ounces (1&1/2 packages) cream cheese, softened
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners' sugar
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 3 (8-inch) cake pans, using your preferred method.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and clove.
In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together butter, oil, brown sugar, and granulated sugar, until creamy, about 1-2 minutes. Beat in vanilla, and one egg at a time, until well combined.
Reduce mixer speed to low, and beat in flour mixture, alternating with the milk, until combined, about 1-2 minutes (always remember to scrape down the sides of your bowl). Stir in carrot, pineapple, and pecans, using a rubber spatula, until well combined.
Scrape batter evenly into prepared cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees F, for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown, and cake springs back when pressed gently, in the center. Cool pans on a wire rack, for 10 minutes. Run a knife around outer edges, and invert cakes onto waxed/parchment paper, to cool completely.
Frost as desired.
To make the frosting, beat together cream cheese, and butter, in a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, until creamy, about 1-2 minutes. Beat in vanilla, and sift in confectioners' sugar, gradually, until frosting is smooth and creamy, about 2-3 minutes (remember to scrape down the sides of your bowl).
*To toast the pecans, place in a dry skillet, over medium heat, and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until golden brown and fragrant.
I actually toast mine in the microwave-it's faster and easier. Just place them in a small bowl, and microwave them for 40-60 seconds, tossing every 20 seconds, or so.
Yield: 12 servings
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