Sunday, March 14, 2010

Sweet Melissa Sunday - Carrot cake with Cream cheese frosting

Well, I wasn't sure I could pull this off, working all weekend at Starbucks, and finding time to bake,  but I made it! "It" being the recipe for our Sweet Melissa Sunday group. The recipe being  Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Chosen by Julie of Little Bit of Everything. Julie was one of my first followers and I keep up with her blog. I was excited to see her choice. I haven't met a carrot cake yet I didn't like. Some I have liked more than others. :) Please stop by Julie's blog to see what she thought of this cake and to get the recipe to try it for yourself. She has made some changes to her header and it's so pretty! You can tell her Susan sent you. :)

So. about this cake.  I baked the cake Saturday night, after dinner, after work. Left it on the counter to cool overnight and frosted it tonight after work. I decided to only bake 1/2 the recipe and to bake it in my 6 inch cake pans. My hubby isn't a carrot cake person, and I sure don't need an 8 inch round two layer cake sitting in my fridge calling to me late at night. "Hello...I'm in here...come cut a slice...you know you want to..." You know how it goes, right?  And, I didn't want to skip this week because I missed last week. So, I made it happen.

Pretty easy to put together. I did add the walnuts as I love nuts of all kinds in my baked goods. As I mentioned, I halved the recipe and baked it in 6 inch pans. I think I ended up baking it for about 35 minutes. It looked perfect when I took it out of the oven.

I didn't make the cream cheese icing because I actually had some cream cheese icing left over from another project. And it turned out to be just enough. I usually tort my cake layers, but, while I had enough frosting to ice the sides and tops, there was only enough to fill between one layer, not three. Had I baked the full size cake I would have torted it and made more icing. But, I didn't, so, I didn't. :)

The verdict? This is one delicious cake! I loved the walnuts scattered throughout. I also chopped some walnuts and sprinkled them over the top and on the sides. They added just the right amount of crunch. The cake was moist, cinnamon-y, delicious!  The hubby? He said, and I quote, "I'm not much for any carrot crap, but this is one good cake. I mean, really, really good."  Oh, and Patches? She gave it two paws up! I have a feeling the hubby is going to wish I had made the full sized recipe. I may wish the same thing. Good thing I have the book and can make another one any time I want.

If you want, slide by SMS and see what the other bakers thought of this cake. And, next week? It's my turn to pick!!! I hope you will come back then and see what I've baked up. :)

20 comments:

  1. Susan: Thanks so much for baking with me this weekend. It means a lot that with your work schedule you still found time to make this one.
    Thanks for the nice comments, too. I changed the header again, springtime flower instead of snow!

    Glad you liked the cake. I didn't dislike it, it just didn't wow me like I had hoped. However, I've eaten a couple of pieces. Those scales are going to keep tipping!!

    Looking forward to next week. Even if it is pie crust - OMG me and pie crust aren't pals :(. And a double crust at that!

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  2. Haha love your husband's comment! I'm glad you found time to bake the cake despite having a busy weekend because this is a yummy recipe. Your cake looks fantastic and I'm glad it was a hit for the whole family :)

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  3. First, I forgot to tell you the last time I was here just how much I love your new blog heading with the flower open! We NEED Spring!

    Your hubby liked this recipe for carrot cake . . . a true tribute to a great baker adding a little extra care to a great recipe! =o)

    Patches too! Very cute little cake and I love the walnuts overall. I am with you about enjoying baking with nuts of all kinds.

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  4. wow. I love the fact that your hubby was willing to eat it and he loved it!
    Lovely! Looks fantastic!

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  5. Hi Susan,

    Your cake looks great. You're one busy lady!

    I look forward to your pie next week. I hardly ever make pie...and I LUUUV pie. I am looking forward to making the next recipe...and that caramel...oooh, can't wait.

    Till next post, :)))

    Carmen ~

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  6. Two paws up?? Tooo cute, I love it! haha. I'm glad you liked this cake - this was one of my favorite recipes so far in SMS! your cake looks great! How great is it that you had cream cheese frosting left over from another recipe? Big time saver!

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  7. Love the cake- especially with walnuts. I am hoping to fit the pie in for next week- may have to try a mini because my house is over run with sweets!

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  8. This looks so yummy! I just had a slice from a local Sharis was pretty good. I really should make it tho;) I'm gonna head on over to check out more of the sweet melissa sundays:)

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  9. Your cake looks cute. I'm glad your husband liked it that much. We really liked it too, but I made mine without walnuts (allergies!).

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  10. You are one busy and dedicated baker. Your cake looks perfect and I glad your husband liked.
    Mimi

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  11. Good for you finding the time to make this cake!! Looks delicious.

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  12. Two paws up and a happy husband? That is a total success in my book! It looks really delicious.

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  13. Beautiful cake... glad you enjoyed it!

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  14. love your mini version of this cake, it says a lot that your hubby liked it so much too!

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  15. Boy, I have got to get some 6" pans. Food in my fridge calls to me all the time. Your cake looks delicious!
    On another blog, I read your tip about filling the piping bag. I'd never thought of that. Thanks!

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  16. Yay for fitting this one in! I didn't realize my boyfriend was a carrot cake fan until I made this; we really liked it too. My dog agrees with Patches, especially about the icing - I caught her trying to counter-surf to get some.

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  17. Don't you love it when you have extra something that you can repurpose and save yourself time? That's a huge timesaver. Your carrot cake looks fantastic! I'm not trying to steal you away from it, but if you've never made Dorie's you should try it. It's awesome.

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  18. I love all nuts in everything as well and it looks de-lish! Your goodies talk to you, too, huh?

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  19. Glad that you enjoyed it! I ended up making it into cupcake so that they could be taken into work because we were leaving town, but I've definitely heard good things from the co-workers!

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Please feel free to comment. I love hearing from others.