The best and yummiest Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I can't say I love Carrot Cake. In most cases I avoid it and choose something else. It's always hit and miss and I don't want to take the chance of biting in to gummy undercooked cake, slimy carrots, or shredded carrot bits that are just too long and stringy - the kind that you pull from the cake like hair stuck in a shower drain. Blek! I would rather gnaw my arm off, seriously! I have issues with finding any hair in my food! I became a vegetarian for a couple years because of hair and a Wendy's hamburger!...But that's a different story and not about this carrot cake.

The carrot cake my sister (sis #2) makes is amazing. I'm not sure why, but it's very vanilla-ie, hahaha...it has a great vanilla flavour is what I'm trying to say :) or maybe it's just that the smell makes it seem like it has been infused with vanilla.  The cake has an amazing 'rightness' to it. The right taste, the right texture, the right smell, the right sweetness, and the right size of shredded carrots.  And whomever decided that cream cheese icing goes with Carrot Cake was a darn genius!

This time around, I figured I would make it myself, using the recipe my sister uses from the Five Roses Flour Cook Book and I wasn't disappointed, nope, not at all. The only thing better than this cake - is if she had made it for me :)

I started off by chopping the nuts (I used walnuts) and shredding the carrots. I just used a carrot peeler and did small strokes at the end of the carrot until the carrot was completely shredded and in the bowl. It took about 4 - 5 medium sized carrots to make 3 cups.

Once I had the carrots and nuts done, I dumped all the wet ingredients plus the sugar into the mixing bowl and turned it on. The recipe says to let it go for 5 minutes, so while that was spinning around, I got the dry ingredients ready and greased the 9 X 13 baking pan.

Next up was to toss the carrots and nuts in with the wet ingredients and give it a whirl.  

Add the flour. I just dumped all of it in at once and gave it a quick mix.

This seriously looks like barf and reminds me of the Rinktum Ditty I made. Pinky orange is NOT a good look for food. Hahah, are you sold on making this yet? Hair and Barf - what the heck will I say about food I hate??

So, take your yummy looking pinky orange mixture and dump it into a greased 9X13 pan. It really needs to be this big of a pan, or two 8X8's or something (24 muffins perhaps). It ends up making a lot of cake. I got 24 large 'forget about the diet' sized pieces out of this.

 Bake at 350 F for 55 - 60 minutes and then let cool on a rack.

While baking, throw your cream cheese ingredients into the blender and cream together.  I made a double batch because....

1. a regular package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese is 8 oz, not 4, and what am I going to do with 1/2 a brick of cream cheese? I guess I could freeze it...nah...
2. I think the cake is better with the double recipe. It's a nice yummy amount  - not too much...and definitely not too little :)

 Once the cake has nicely cooled, slather it with the cream cheese icing. YUM!

Cut into the non diet friendly servings and enjoy!

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Five Roses Flour Cook Book - 1970? (pg 94)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1⁄2 cups Five Roses flour
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups finely grated carrots
• 1 cup chopped nuts

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven
2. Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt together.
3. In the large electric mixer bowl combine oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla; beat until light, about 5 minutes.
4. Blend in carrots and nuts.
5. Blend in dry ingredients, 1/3 at a time.
6. Pour batter into greased and floured pan
7. Bake in a moderate oven until top springs back when lightly pressed with fingertips.
8. Let cake stand in pan 10 minutes before removing. 
9. Cool completely on rack.
10. Frost with cream cheese frosting

Rectangular cake pan: 22 cm X 33 cm (9" X 13")
Temperature: 180 C (350 F)
Cooking Time: 55 to 60 minutes
Yield: 1 large cake

CREAM CHEESE ICING (single recipe as shown in book)

Five Roses Flour Cook Book - 1970? (pg 102 )

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1⁄2 cups icing sugar
• 1⁄2 cup butter (softened)
• 1 – 4 oz pkg cream cheese
• 1 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS

1. Cream butter and cream cheese together
2. Add in vanilla
3. Beat in icing sugar

Yield: 500 mL (2 cups)

Blueberry Sally Lunn

I was reading through a local cook book 'From Our... Kitchen... to yours' by the The Atlantic Provinces Association of Northern B.C. and I stumbled across a recipe for Blueberry Sally Lunn submitted by Sandra Langille of Truro, N.S.

The cook book reminds me of so many local association, school, knitting club cook books. All the recipes come with a name attached and there are a lot of filler recipes for having a happy home or finding the right husband. Maybe I should of read this book YEARS AGO :) haha!  These so-called recipes make me think of knitted tea cozies, tea stained tea cups, quilted blankets, ... and gasp!... nosey opinionated relatives that can and will explain to you exactly why you are not yet married and how you let a 'good one' get away.  Hopefully it reminds you of grandmas kitchen or the aged cross stitched 'Home Sweet Home' picture framed at Auntie Annie's house, but not me, sorry.. different upbringing I suppose :)

Recipe for a happy home  (submitted by Maisie)

PREHEAT HOME WITH LOVE TO THE Nth DEGREE

One carefully selected man.
One carefully selected woman.

To the man add the abilities to be a good provider ad give affections. Stir in stability, strength, decisiveness and leadership. Boil until all traces of condescension evaporate.

To the woman add the abilities to be a good homemaker and give encouragement. Stir in loyalty, tenderness, and creativity. Boil until all traces of nagging evaporate.

Carefully blend the two together. Grease immediately with maturity. Flour with common sense. Add heaping amounts of respect and honesty. Constantly add kindness and understanding. Drain off apartness but retain individuality. Whip in sense of humour. Grind in responsibility. Fold in patience mixed with insight. Stir in ability to sacrifice. Soften with trust. Cut out all traces of selfishness. For added richness blend in plans and dreams and season with children.
 
What I do know for sure about the book is that my mom would of either purchased it or received it as a gift when she used to live in northern BC over 30 yrs ago. What I don't know is when the book was published by Gateway Publishing Co. Ltd (Winnipeg, Canada).

Now, having already made two different Sally Lunns, how could I possibly pass up this one. It's similar to the recipe in the American Woman's cook book in that it doesn't require beating the egg whites to stiff peaks, thankfully! but that's about it - the ratios for the ingredients are completely different.

I made 2 changes in the recipe, mostly so that this recipe is baked the same as the other two Sallys. I used a bundt pan for it instead of the 9X9 mentioned in the recipe and, since bundt's get flipped out, I used the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture to dust the sides of the greased pan, like you would with flour.

Once dusted, I wiped off the unused brown sugar mixture so it wouldn't burn to the side of the pan and popped it in the oven.  I just used my finger, which seemed to work the best :)

It came out of the pan really easily once it was almost cooled, no doubt because the bundt pan is non stick and I also sprayed it with PAM before dusting with the brown sugar mix.

It's not a sweet cake, but the brown sugar and cinnamon coating gives it an extra bit of sweetness and a tiny bit of crunch, which I really like.  I think this really would be amazing served warm with ice cream. Yum!

Blueberry Sally Lunn
From Our... Kitchen... to yours - 1970's? (pg 28) 
Sandra Langille of Truro, N.S.  

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup milk
• 2/3 cup blueberries

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

1. Cream shortening and sugar, add eggs
2. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk
3. Fold in blueberries
4. Pour into greased 9 X 9 inch pan
5. Mix brown sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour
7. Serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream

Nut Coffee Cake with Blueberries

There seems to be a lot of blueberries for sale, everywhere! And all at a fairly good price. Between me and my sister, I think we collected more than we really need, so besides freezing them,  I used about a pound to top up the amount of fruit I needed when making cherry jam... I guess it's Cherry Blueberry Jam now. I hope it tastes great!..hope hope and more hope.. even if it's not great, I hope at least edible and somewhat yummy! Jam is a funny thing, you can't really know for sure if it all worked until it's done..  *sigh*... ok..ok, less about jam and more other blueberry stuff! Although...runny jam is great on ice cream!

I love coffee cake, especially when having coffee. It seems like such a civilized thing to do. Like afternoon tea with dainty teacups. But coffee cake and coffee feels more rustic and down to earth. More like a friendly visit with girlfriends instead of a snooty affair. Apologies to afternoon tea drinking / cucumber sandwich eating folks :)

I took this one over to my mom....minus a TINY slice...Thankfully I had better self control than I did when I made the Sally Lunn!  It was yummy, although very cake like and not as dense as I envision coffee cake to be.

I basically followed the recipe as is with the exception of 1 or 2 things.  Ok, 3 things if I'm being honest.

I didn't read 'square pan' until I had already poured the batter into the Bundt Pan. And, well, I kind of decided that I didn't want to only use half the topping, nor did I want to put the topping and blueberries on top - so I followed the basic recipe and just added blueberries along with the first layer of topping in the middle of the batter.

It doesn't mention it in the recipe, but I usually dust fruit with flour before adding them into the batter. So I did that too.

I did have a bit of concern when I put the final bit of topping on. I thought to myself, "How the heck is this going to work...the cake gets flipped, so this is really the bottom", that's when I read 'square pan', which makes more sense based on the directions! 

There wasn't anything else to do, but put it in the oven and hope for the best. And..well, it worked out great! The blueberries and nuts sunk in to the batter a bit while cooking, so it didn't leave a weird sticky mess on the bottom when I flipped it over  :) Yay! I won!

I let it cool for the 10 - 15 minutes they recommend and then flipped it out onto a plate.

I wanted to pretty it up, so I lightly sprinkled it with icing sugar.

I took some pictures, and then off to my mom's house, cake in hand :)  Hahah, they didn't wait long to try it, since when I asked how she liked it later on that day, she said she liked it and that it was still warm when she tried it :)


Nut Coffee Cake with Blueberries
Five Roses Flour Cook Book  - 1970?  (pg 37)

Topping

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup finely chopped nuts
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3 tbsp butter or margarine

DIRECTIONS 

Combine brown sugar, nuts, and cinnamon. Cut in butter until mixture is the size of large peas.

Batter (Basic Recipe)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/4 cup Five Roses All Purpose Flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp shortening
• 1 egg - beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2/3 cup milk

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. In another bowl, cream together sugar and shortening until smooth.
3. Add egg and vanilla, and beat until mixture is light.
4. Gradually stir in dry ingredients alternatively with milk.
5. Spread half of the batter into greased pan. 
6. Sprinkle half of topping on top.
7. Cover with remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining topping.
8. Bake in a moderate oven.
9. Allow cake to sit at room temperature in pan on rack 10 -15 minutes.
10. Cut pieces from pan and serve warm.

Square Pan: 20 cm (8")
Temperature: 180 C (350 F)
Cooking Time: 30 - 40 minutes
Yield: 1 coffee cake

Variations: Blueberries

• 1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, not thawed

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare only half of the topping.
2. Spread batter in greased mould.
3. Arrange blueberries on top and sprinkle with topping

Matrimony Cake, Date Shortbread, or Date Squares?

I love to bake, but I have issues!

In Toronto, I could bake as much as I wanted and then take it in to work. It would disappear lickety-split! But here, in BC, I really don't know anyone and I'm working from home. So...what to make and whom to give it to? Sure, I can pawn off some on my mom - she has a sweet tooth, but eventually I'll end up filling her freezer...or make her go into a diabetic coma! 

My sister and I are trying to lose weight, not gain more...and I'd rather have the calories of a Canadian 67 beer instead of sweets.  Hahah, just sayin'

I can't let that stop me! Tally-ho and carry-on!

Today's choice is Date Shortbread (Matrimonial Cake) from the Five Roses Flour Cookbook. Personally I can see the Matrimonial Cake name being more in keeping with the squares, or as I knew them growing up: Date Squares.

Perhaps I'm wrong, but I've always viewed shortbread as a melt in your mouth biscuit type of cookie or bar...definitely not something with fruit.

Either way, perhaps these Date Square/Shortbread/Matrimonial Cakes will taste like the ones I remember my mom making!

The recipe for the crust is separate from the date filling in the cook book.  The date filling is actually used in quite a few of the recipes, which is why it's separate, I guess :)

So, moving on...

The filling:  Put 1/2 lb dates (chopped finely), 1/2 cup cold water, 2 tbsp brown sugar, grated rind of 1/2 an orange in a small pan,  and cook over moderate heat until thick and smooth. Add in 2 tbsp orange juice and 1 tsp lemon juice. That's all well and good, but not what I did.

I kind of messed up, I was supposed to add the juice once all the cooking was complete, but in my excitement I dumped everything in to the pot. I think it worked though! Also...I think moderate heat is to high as it was bubbling away and I thought it would burn before softening. In other recipes, it says bring to a boil and then simmer, so...that's what I did.  Also...I didn't have an orange, I forgot I ate it hahaha, so I used the zest of 2 lemons instead.  I did however have orange juice, so that part of the recipe is correct.

My filling: Put 1/2 lb dates (chopped finely), 1/2 cup cold water, 2 tbsp brown sugar,  zest of 2 lemons, 2 tbsp orange juice, and 1 tsp of lemon juice in a small pan. Cook on moderate heat until sauce begins to bubble and then simmer, stirring frequently.

I left it simmering for about 5 minutes while I got the dry ingredients ready, then left the filling to cool.

Sift your  1 1/2 cups flour, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp baking soda together in a bowl. Then add in the 1 cup of butter.  Make it all wonderfully crumbly using your fingertips. 

Add in the 1 cup of brown sugar and 1 1/2 cups of coarse oatmeal and mix until well combined.

The original recipe called for an 8 X 14 pan, which I didn't have, so I used a 9 X 13. I think it makes the bars quite thin. I think most people who make this probably do it in a 8 X 8 or 9 X 9 pan nowadays. Back in the day..haha, someones day.. not MINE! It was probably a very economical way to make a dessert stretch out for twice as many people and still taste as good.  Perhaps...to make a lot for guests at a wedding, hrmmm...it is named Matrimony Cake after all...  I digress...

Press half the batter into the bottom of a greased pan. I greased, lined with parchment, and then greased again so I could easily remove the cake for cooling.

Spread the cooled date mixture onto the bars. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND using a spatula! I tried with the wooden spoon and it pulled up the crust, and also tried with my fingers..hahaha, bloody mess that was! My sister had to scrape my gooped up fingers off with the spatula, it wasn't pretty! :)  Apologies for the blurry picture.

Press the rest of the dough onto the date filling.  I really do think the 8 X 14 or 9 X 13 is stretching it thin. You can see the filling peaking out!

Bake for 30 - 40 minutes at 325 F and then turn up the heat just to brown at the end. I didn't need to, I baked mine 30 minutes and it was, for me, brown enough..my sister's oven is wonky though. You need to set the dial somewhere around 235 for the oven to heat to 350 F... so, I was guessing a bit to make it 325 F.

I took it out to cool. The parchment helped lift it out onto the rack. Even though it's thin, it looks yummy!

Date Shortbread (Matrimony Cake)
Five Roses Flour Cook Book - 1938 (page 69)

 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2  cups old fashioned oatmeal

DIRECTIONS

1. Sift flour, baking powder, soda, and salt
2. Rub in butter with the tips of your fingers
3. Add sugar and oatmeal, mix well.
4. Spread half the mixture in a greased shallow pan (about 8 X 14 inches) and pat to make smooth.
5. Cover with cooled Date Filling, spreading it evenly, then cover with remaining crumbs, pat to make smooth.
6. Bake at 325 F for 30 - 35 minutes.
7. Increase heat slightly and bake for a few minutes longer to lightly brown the mixture.
8. Cut in squares while hot and allow the shortbread to cool in the pan.

Date Filling
Five Roses Flour Cook Book - 1938 (page 58)

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 lb chopped dates
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• Grated rind of 1/2 orange
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 1 tsp lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

1. Cook dates, water, orange rind, and sugar in a small saucepan, over a moderate heat until thick and smooth
2. Remove from fire
3. Add fruit juices; mix well.
4. Cool before spreading

 My Note: These are the exact instructions from the book, my modifications are in the descriptive text :) Enjoy!

The Sally Challenge

Appearances can be deceiving.

On the outside, they look the same. If I hadn't named the images I might not know which is which, but they are different. It's what's inside that counts.

The Sally Lunn from American Woman's Cook Book is much more of a dessert sweet cake - bread while the English Sally Lunn from the Five Roses Flour Cook Book is more of a bread type and a lot less sweet. Neither recipe has a lot of sugar, but the English Sally only has a tablsepoon compared to 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) in the AWC Sally.

The dough for both of the recipes is a bit gloppy.

Texture, when baked, doesn't appear that much different, although the FRF English Sally seems to be a bit less crumbly - more sturdy right after baking.  (Is that even proper English...more sturdy?)  Once cooled, they seem about the same.

My verdict - would I make these again?

Sally Lunn - Yes

You could make drop biscuits with this recipe, but I think the English Sally Lunn would be way to runny for this.  Probably due to the extra eggs. Neither dough can be rolled out.

• It's a simple sweet cake-bread
• It can be served alone or with Jam or Honey.
• It can be whipped up quickly with simple ingredients.
• Perfect any time of day for a snack or for serving to a friend.

English Sally Lunn - Maybe

•     I could make tea biscuits with less effort.
•     I would eat it as a snack (with butter or jam), but I dont think I'd eat it dry with nothing on it.
•     I wouldn't serve it by itself to a friend. It would be part of a meal.
•     Yes, if I wanted a tea biscuit styled bun (that would rise in a muffin tin)
•     Yes, if I wanted a quick no yeast type 'bread'.

Who are you Sally Lunn?

My Goal:

Make the Sally Lunn (again) and take pictures before eating it!

Umm...I ate some too and it was just as I remembered - simple and comforting. I feel a mix of pleasure and incredulity that something can have such simple ingredients (with only a 1/4 cup of sugar for any real flavour) and make something I want to make again and again.

Perhaps it's too plain for our modern times, but I can imagine a housewife in the 1940's being quite pleased with the outcome, and proud to place it on her table. I know I would be tickled to be invited over for tea and have this little cake-bread offered up to me.  And if she chose to accompany the cake-bread with a bit of honey or jam, I would be her new best friend.

I'm not sure, but I think this would be the type of recipe that would appeal to frugal food rationed housewives.

The ingredients are simple:  Flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, milk, shortening, and an egg.

I measured everything out and realized I was a tiny bit shy on shortening, but I didn't think it would matter that much. On cooking shows, they never scrape everything clean, and they always say it tastes amazing! A missing teaspoon or so of shortening to make a 1/2 cup shouldn't matter - and my taste buds agreed once the finish product hit my hips ;)

 

Add the beaten egg to the milk and give it another stir for good measure.

 

The recipe calls for sifting the flour with the baking powder and salt, but I'm kind of lazy that way. I measured by spooning the flour into the cup and then leveling it off with the back of a knife. Then just added the baking powder and salt and stirred it in fairly well.

Blend the shortening and the sugar together. I could of used my KitchenAid, but that just seemed like overkill, it only took a minute to blend everything together using a spatula.

Alternate adding the flour mixture to the shortening with the milk/egg mixture.

At first it seemed like there was too much milk, but as I mooshed it...that's my technical cooking talk for pushing down on the flour with the back of the spatula... it came together. 

The end result was a thick pancake like batter.  Like gummy mashed potatoes.

Since most of my kitchen is packed up - my choices for baking dishes are severely limited. My ONLY choice was the angel food cake tin. The recipe says a loaf pan or a muffin tin.

I greased up the lucky winner with a bit of butter and dropped the batter in by the heaping spoonful.

I didn't bother with smoothing it down. Just make sure it's the same thickness around so it will bake evenly.

375 F and 30 minutes later. Yay!

At this point it's really important to let it cool before removing from the pan or trying to eat it.

On the first cake, I tried to cut in to it when it first came out of the oven and it was a fully-baked crumbly mess that I had to use a spoon to eat. *blush* I was a bit worried about the texture, but the more it cooled, the more it stuck together.  So, I left this baby alone to cool in the pan.

When it was finally cool enough that I could handle the cake without burning my hands, I tipped it out onto the rack.

I really like the rustic simple look.

Goal: Accomplished!

Sally Lunn Recipe
American Woman's Cook Book 1948 (pg 120)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups sifted flour
• 3 tsps baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1/4 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. Sift flour with baking powder and salt. 
2. Combine egg and milk.
3. Cream shortening and sugar.
4. Add flour alternatively with egg/milk mixture
5. Place in greased loaf pan or muffin pans and bake in a moderate oven (375 F) - 30 minutes

Makes 1 loaf or 12 muffins.

Sally Lunn Cake Bread fondly remembered

I was hungry, I was bored, and I wanted to bake something easy! And truth be told, I really wanted to try something from one of my cookbooks.

Since I'm moving, most of my kitchen is packed and sitting in storage, not to mention I'm literally eating myself out of house and home! So, what to make? Tea biscuits, perhaps, although I'm down to only cake flour now and debating on purchasing more all-purpose flour...maybe just a small bag!...before I move.

Currently my 'pantry' is the lower shelf of a table in my living room. It was my entry table, near my front door, but I needed the room for moving things out. Alas, the shelves I had for baking supplies are resting inside a storage crate 2 km away.

psSSssst Aren't juice box type wine containers the best! (left of middle in the picture) Sorry, I don't like wine, so this makes an excellent option for needing wine for cooking but not wanting to waste an entire bottle. I've seen smaller 1 cup sizes before too!

Ummm... Did I mention I was hungry?...I chose a Sally Lunn recipe. It's described as not a cake and not bread.. hrmmm. So, I quickly baked a 'not a cake' and then promptly ate most of it before thinking about taking any pictures! *sigh*  My tummy and taste buds were happy campers, though.

I did figure a way to rectify the situation and alleviate the guilt. I will make not one, but two Sally Lunn cake things! One from from the American Woman's cook book...this was the one that caused my shame...and another from the 1938 Five Roses Flour Cook book. The Five Roses one has differing amounts of flour and things and they call it English Sally Lunn, instead of just plain old Sally Lunn, but I'm sure it will be just as good perhaps just a bit different in texture.

I'll have to do a bit of googling on Sally to see who she is and why she has cake bread named after her.