It was my mother’s birthday a few days ago, and like last year, I volunteered to bake the cake. While I already have a favourite carrot cake recipe (that one is made in a tube pan), I decided to expand my horizons and try a new recipe – again, from the Magnolia Bakery cookbook (still itching to try it out all the time!).

This cake is a layer one, and is very good. I don’t think it beats my favourite recipe, but it’s definitely in the running! It’s extremely moist, and filled with crunchy nuts. It’s carrotiness really stand out, and it’s a dense, flavourful cake. I would recommend it to any carrot cake lovers.

The cream cheese frosting, on the other hand, is simply amazing. Best cream cheese frosting I’ve ever made, and this will be my go-to recipe from now on. I think a lot has to do with the mixing time – when it says blend for a certain amount of time, do it! I also like my addition of cream. I halved the icing recipe because I always seem to end up with an excess of icing that I have to freeze. However, this time I was sorry I did – I didn’t have enough to properly fill the layer portion.

Next time, I would add raisins, and definitely make the full recipe for the frosting. I omitted the coconut, but I am more than willing to give this recipe another go, complete with raisins, coconut and a ton of the decadent, silky-smooth frosting.

(My apologies for the quality of the photos – the cake was gone too quickly to properly capture it in all its glory!)

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
adapted from More From Magnolia

CAKE
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon (I added almost 2 teaspoons)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup vegetable oil (preferably canola)
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups lightly packed shredded carrots
One 8-ounce can crushed pineapple in its own juice, with juice
1 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecans (I used walnuts)
3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut (I omitted this, since I didn’t have any on hand)

ICING
1 pound (two 8-ounce packages) cream cheese, softend and cu into small pieces.
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into small pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
(I added cooking cream at the end, to bring it to the consistency that I wanted)

GARNISH
Coarsely chopped toasted pecans

CAKE
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and lightly flour two 9×2-inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with waxed paper (I used parchment)

2. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat together the oil and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until light and thick, about two minutes. Add the vanilla and beat well.

4. Gradually add the dry ingredients, beating until well incorporated.

5. Stir in the carrots, pineapple and juice, pecans and coconut. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.

6. Let the layers cool in the pans for 1 hour (I left them cool for about 10 minutes, and they popped right out). Remove from the pans and cool completely on wire racks.

7. When the cake has cooled, ice between the layers, then ice the top and sides of the cake with the cream cheese icing. Garnish with the toasted pecans as desired.

ICING
1. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth, about 3 minutes.

2. Add the vanilla and beat well.

3. Gradually add the sugar, one cup at a time, beating continuously until smooth and creamy.

4. Cover and refrigerate icing for 2 to 3 hours, but no longer, to thicken before using.

We’re all settled into the new house, and I’ve even had the chance to get some baking done! However, our computer still isn’t set up, so I can’t really post about it. Soon though (I hope!) I can’t wait to start visiting all my favourite cooking blogs too – I miss drooling over all the fantastic recipes!

For now, here’s a dish I made ages ago, and completely forgot to write about. It was one of those evenings where I was famished, but running kind of low on ingredients. I grabbed a bunch of stuff from the fridge, and came up with a sour cream mushroom pasta dish, loosely based on this recipe.

It was pretty satisfying, and even better reheated the next day. I think it could use some tinkering, but for a spur-of-the-moment pasta, it does the job. I love sour cream sauces; the tang is sharp, especially compared to the mellowness of the mushrooms.

There are also some pretty unexpected ingredients in the dish, including pickle brine and sauerkraut. The pickle brine wasn’t very noticeable, but I have a feeling the dish might’ve been a bit bland without it. Same thing with the sauerkraut, though I really liked having the chopped cabbage in there – it added a fun texture to the pasta.

Of course, parmesan made the whole thing even better, and I added a whole lot of chopped parsley to get a bit of a brighter flavour.

All in all, when you’re looking for a way to use up the rest of your sour cream, I think a mushroom pasta dish like this is an excellent option, and very open to your own personal variations.

Sour Cream Mushroom Pasta
adapted from Seasonal Ontario Food

½ – 1 pound pasta
3 cups mushrooms
1 large onion
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup sour cream
1 cup chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup sauerkraut
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons brine or pickle juice
1 1/2 teaspoons dried dillweed
pepper
cayenne
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup chopped parsley

1. Put a large pot of water on to boil. When it boils, salt it and add the pasta.

2. Meanwhile, clean the mushrooms and cut them in halves or quarters. Peel and dice the onion. Sauté the mushrooms and onions in the butter in a large skillet until soft and lightly browned. This should happen a little after the pasta goes into the pot to cook.

3. Meanwhile, mix the sour cream, chicken stock, sauerkraut, flour, brine, dill and pepper and cayenne to taste. Add this to the mushroom and onion mixture. Add the parmesan. Continue cooking over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until thickened.

4. When the pasta is cooked, drain it well and toss it with the sauce. Add the chopped parsley.

I hope everyone had happy and peaceful holidays! I ended up doing some baking (but no photos, so unfortunately, no posts), taking care of a sick cat, and packing. I’m sorry to say goodbye to the holidays, but looking forward to the new year.

I received More from Magnolia as a Christmas present this year, and have been very excited to make something from it. Of course, I wanted the famous cupcakes to be my first, but unfortunately, didn’t have any self-rising flour at home, so I ended up going with this recipe, as it meant not having to leave the house on a cold, wintery day.

I am not crazy about it. It’s okay, but it’s lacking something. I find it extremely sweet – too much so. Next time, I’ll definitely cut the sugar in the topping. The hazelnuts were definitely a hit though, a touch of sweetness and nuttiness.

The filling was okay, but the apples didn’t stand out at all. I would add some cinnamon to the filling next time, and probably more apples.

As for the crust – again, it was just okay. Soli swears his piece had a bitter taste in the crust, but I don’t taste that at all. It’s a typical crust that stands up well to the filling.

If you like super sweet apple desserts, you’d probably like this. As for me, I’m hoping the cupcakes turn out better!

Apple Tart with Hazelnut Brown Sugar Topping
adapted from More from Magnolia

BROWN SUGAR TOPPING
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts

FILLING
3 cups thinly sliced tart apples
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

CRUST
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder

TOPPING
1. In a medium-size bowl, mix together the flour and sugar.

2. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the hazelnuts and, using your hands, toss until all the ingredients are well combined. Set aside.

FILLING
1. Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss gently until the fruit is evenly coated. Set aside.

CRUST
1. In a large bowl, on the low speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until smooth.

2. Add the egg and egg yolk, and mix well. Add the flour and baking powder, and beat just until combined.

3. Gather the dough into a ball and on a lightly floured surface, roll it out to fit a 10-inch tart pan. Fit the dough into the pan and trim the edge flush with the rim of the pan.

4. Transfer the fruit filling into the crust and sprinkle the borwn sugar topping evenly over the fruit. Place the tart on a baking sheet and bake for 50 minutes in a 325 degree F oven.

5. Cool on a wire rack for 1 – 2 hours. Serve warm or at room temperature.