Carrot Cake

I've never been in for those "secret family recipe" deals. I mean, if you have a secret family recipe, and you all die, or at least all the good cooks in the family die unexpectedly, it's gone forever. Is that really what you want? Besides, I don't have time to cook or bake for the entire world, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't try something good.

If I was feeling stingy, this is one of those recipes I would hide. Well, at least, I would hide the part about the cream cheese frosting. But I'm not that mean. If you're smart enough to love cream cheese frosting, then you deserve this. I won't hold back. But let's start with the cake first.

When I first married my husband, his favorite cake was carrot. It may be chocolate now, I'm not sure, but that's for another day. So I started experimenting, and I quickly discovered that all carrot cakes are made with oil. Gross. Have you ever tasted oil? Not the kind for your car, of course, just the canola or corn kind you'd use in baking a cake? Did you like it? Me neither. Now, have you tasted butter? I thought so. So I decided (rather quickly) to substitute butter. The resulting cake, of course, would be quite different. Instead of a tender, fluffier cake, you get a dense, moist cake with a bit of caramely taste on the crusty edge. Pair that with a mellow cream cheese frosting and you're just about in heaven. Eat too much of it, clog all of your arteries, and you really will be in heaven. That's why it's important to share.

For this cake, you're going to need two 9" x 3" pans. I suppose you could use three 9" x 2" pans; that should work, as well, but since I haven't done it, you'll have to watch it closely to know when it's done. Of course, I prefer my pans with removable bottoms, but do as you like. Also, these cakes have a strong tendency to fall if not completely baked through. This means the center of the cake has to be strong enough to bounce back when touched before removing it from the oven. If you want to do a half batch, you'll need two 6" x 3" pans.

The other tidbit I learned (from my husband, who learned it from participating in cub scout cake decorating contests in his youth) is that it's easier to frost a cake if it's frozen. In fact, it is much, much easier, and since I like eating this cake chilled, it works out quite well. The frosting is soft when prepared but firms up as you frost it because of the cooling temperature. Frost the cake frozen, then serve it about an hour later. It should be just right.

When you grate your carrots, grate them on the finest grater side of a box grater or, if you have it handy, the smallest grater on your food processor. (By the way, it's amazing how fast you can grate carrots with a food processor - it probably took one minute to do enough for one and a half batches.)

The toasted pecans are optional, in case you're allergic to pecans, but otherwise add them. They make the cake!

Carrot Cake

1 lb. unsalted butter, room temperature
3 c. sugar
5 eggs
1 t. vanilla
4 c. all-purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
2 t. baking soda
1 T. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
3 cups finely grated carrots
1 cup toasted pecan halves

First prepare your pans. Spray them with Pam (I'd just say "non-stick" spray, but let's face it: Pam is definitely superior), then line the bottom and sides with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 325°.

In a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in the eggs thoroughly, one at a time, and add the vanilla.

Separately, combine the dry ingredients. Whisk them together to sift the flour, mix the ingredients, and lighten them. On low speed, mix the flour into the butter mixture little by little, until fully incorporated, but do not overmix.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the carrots and pecans. Divide between the two prepared pans. In case you think something is wrong, I should warn you that this is a very thick cake batter recipe. You haven't left out any ingredients, nor have I.

Bake for approximately 64 minutes. This is exactly how long mine took, but your oven might be ever so slightly different. The center of the cake should spring back when lightly touched. Note: do not open the oven door several times during baking, as this cake is sensitive and will punish you for your impatience.

Remove the cake to a cooling rack. After 10 or 15 minutes, remove it from the cake pans. Let it cool nearly to room temperature, then return it to the pans and place in the freezer. Freeze until very cold, then frost with cream cheese frosting (see below). Serve.

Cream Cheese Frosting

3 8-oz. packages Philadelphia cream cheese (or local creamery brand, if it's very good), room temperature
18 T. unsalted butter, room temperature (that's 2 sticks plus 2 T.)
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar (not powdered!)
1 T. vanilla

Place all ingredients in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium until coming together, then on high for one minute.

Makes a generous amount for a 2-layer cake, but will probably be just right for a 3-layer.

Raspberry Jam

If you haven't made your own jam, you're missing out on a nicely rewarding experience in the kitchen. Jam is simple and fast to make, and, since you choose your own fruit, you can be sure to get the best flavor, too.

Every year we make raspberry jam. In our house, no other jam is better for a pb&j than raspberry jam, although rhubarb comes close. It's pretty simple, except that we make it complicated by making seedless raspberry jam. Who likes having raspberry seeds stuck in their teeth anyway, especially when you're supposed to be enjoying your sandwich?

This is our third year picking our own raspberries. I should have brought the camera, since it's pretty funny seeing a 3-year-old wanting to fill his bucket but never getting more than a few in there before eating them up. Have you read Blueberries for Sal? It reminds me a lot of that book. My daughter is 8 and was significantly more helpful, but that still left me with a lot of raspberry picking. It's worth it to me, though, because while I love raspberries and raspberry jam, I have noticed that they mold very quickly, even refrigerated. If you pick some up at the grocery store or the farmer's market, be sure to look inside several berries before choosing a container. They often have small mold spores in them and this seriously affects the flavor. And also my desire to eat them.

So we picked a bit over a gallon of raspberries. Aren't they beautiful?

And then we got to work. If you want to make seedless raspberry jam, you have a lot of seeds to remove. First, you need to mash the berries (my son and I did this in about 2-cup increments), and then you need to push them through the sieve. Normally, making any kind of jam may take about half an hour tops, but this part is time consuming. It probably takes about an hour and a half, but I may be overestimating. Just make sure you have some time carved out in your day.

From this point on, it's pretty straightforward: just follow the directions on the package. I used Sure-Jell pectin, which called for 5 cups of mashed fruit and 7 cups of sugar. That may seem like a lot if you've never made jam before, but it's not unusual. I used to use "Lower-Sugar" pectin, but it's hard to find these days.

So, wash your jars and lids and caps, then keep them sitting in hot water while you follow the instructions to boil the jam with the sugar and pectin. Pour the jam into the jars, placing the lids on, screwing the caps on, and turning the jar over after each one is filled. The jar should seal after a while. I usually just leave it there until it's cool enough to handle and turn them over to check. If you push in on the lid in the middle and it pops out at you, it's not sealed. You have to be sure to fill them and turn them over while the jam is very hot or they won't seal, in which case you can either store it in your refrigerator or process them in a water bath according to the directions.

I think you know the rest. Fix a piece of toast, butter it, add jam. Grab a slice of bread, add peanut butter, then jam. Buy a croissant, slice it open, add jam. You get the idea.

Peach Pie

Peach pie is one of those lovely little treats that remind me why I love food. Not that I needed reminding. When the crust is flaky and delicate, the peaches are sweet and fresh, and the ice cream is vanilla and nearby, everything seems to come together to create the perfect blend of flavors in your mouth. Maybe I like it so much because I can remember eating my mom's peach pies so many times the first 18 years of my life, or maybe my mom made it so much because she knew it was a good thing, too.

Good pie starts with a good crust, which may seem difficult to come by, but is not that difficult to accomplish. I could probably write for three days on all my experiments with pie crust and not cover half of the information out there, but I'll save you the trouble and just include the good stuff. Crust is important. If you aren't going to make a good crust, then don't waste your time - make a cobbler. Cobbler topping recipes are even easier than pie crust recipes, and clearly your goal is to get to the filling anyhow. Still, you should reconsider.

I like an all-butter crust. The flavor is unbeatable, and if you can get it really flaky, it is one of the finest pastries around. Some people prefer to use part vegetable shortening with their butter crust to make rolling it out easier, but when this recipe is done right, the all-butter crust rolls out quickly and smoothly. I've tried using a pastry cutter, forks, fingers, and a food processor, but my favorite method (by far) is from Sherry Yard in The Secrets of Baking, which is where this crust recipe originates. (I highly recommend the entire book, though!) Please, do not use salted butter in this recipe. It will not produce the same quality in flavor.

By the way, if you need to purchase a stand mixer for this recipe, I recommend KitchenAid, and you should get it here.

Pie Dough
adapted from The Secrets of Baking by Sherry Yard

1/2 lb. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
2 T. sugar
1 t. salt (table, or finely ground Kosher)
1/2 c. ice water
1/2 t. white wine vinegar

Cut the butter into 1" pieces and place in the freezer for 15 minutes (no more).

In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix the flour and sugar. This lightens the flour to make the dough more tender. Add the butter and salt. Mix on low speed for at least 30 seconds and no more than 2 minutes, until most of the butter is about the size of walnut halves. Stop the machine and pinch all the large pieces of butter flat. Be careful not to just mash the pieces; the goal is to create flat, flaky layers in your dough.

Combine the ice water and vinegar, then add the liquid all at once to the flour mixture. Blend for no more than 15 seconds, until much of it is just coming together.Spread out two sheets of plastic wrap. Bring the dough together just a bit with your hands, just enough so that it's not all crumbs, but do not work it much at this point, as working the dough while it's slightly warm from this process will damage the layers of flakiness and cause the dough to be tough. Divide the dough a little unevenly into two lumps and wrap each in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes. If you refrigerate it an hour or more, let it set at room temperature for a few minutes before rolling out. Also, before you remove it from the plastic, make sure each lump of dough is shaped into a nice round, semi-flat disc. This will help you in the rolling-out process.

Peach Pie

For the filling, you'll want between 4 and 8 cups of peeled, sliced peaches, depending on how big your pie pan is. If it's a 9" deep dish pan, as most of mine are, use about 8 cups of peaches. For a small pie pan, especially a shallow one, you may need as little as 4 cups. Unlike apple pies, you can't just mound up the fruit before baking, as it will run over. And also unlike apple pies, peach pies are better without additional flavorings, as long as you have good, ripe fruit. Save the cinnamon for your apple pies, and leave the almond extract out (unless you're my mom, in which case you have the good sense to do whatever you want). For each cup of sliced peaches, add 1/4 c. of sugar and 1 1/2 T. of flour or 1 1/4 T. cornstarch (I prefer cornstarch by far with peach pie, as it requires a generous amount of thickening agent). This should make the pie sweet enough and thick enough not to run all over the place, even if slightly warm.
Now that your filling is ready, it's time to roll out the dough. First, preheat the oven to 425°. I highly recommend using a French rolling pin, as it's more easily controlled and lightweight enough to avoid mashing the dough, which is not what you want. Lightly flour a work surface, then dust both sides of your disc with flour. Begin rolling out your dough, taking turns which direction your are rolling. You should go in all directions, and you should dust the top of your dough with flour and turn it over once or twice during this process, so that it doesn't stick to the work surface or get unwanted clumps of flour in spots underneath. Feel free to use lots of flour while rolling out your dough; just be sure it's evenly used across the circle. Your bottom dough should be plenty large; the recipe should provide you with enough dough to ensure you can roll it slightly beyond what you need, so you can estimate the amount you need for the bottom, sides, and crimping the edges.
Gently place this dough in the bottom of the pie pan, then roll out the top so that it extends about an inch and a half beyond the edge of the pie pan. Use a paring knife and cut the edges of the crust all the way around just an inch or so beyond the pan, leaving a little more in especially thin sections (if you have any of those). Press the edges together, then turn the crust underneath and crimp using your thumbs and forefingers. Cut slits into the top to let the steam to escape.
Place the extra pieces of rolled dough that you cut off the edges in a small pan (I used nonstick), and dust with cinnamon and sugar. Bake alongside the pie for the first 10 minutes, or thereabouts, and remove from the oven to eat while you wait for the pie to bake.




Place the prepared pie in the oven and bake at 425° for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350° and bake for an additional 25-45 minutes, until the filling is bubbling near the center, as can be seen through the slits. If the crust is browning too much, cover with aluminum foil to slow it down (I do this when I turn the oven temperature down), but remove the foil during the last 5 minutes or so to make sure the crust is crisp and not steamed.

If everything went well (and I'm sure it did!), you should have a very flaky crust and one fantastic pie. Let it cool on a cooling rack nearly to room temperature, then serve with vanilla ice cream.

Training Meals, part 3: Chicken Tacos

This one is so easy, and so good. It's not your mom's chicken tacos, either, unless your mom is from Mexico. Not only do these taste so fresh and light, they're filling (if you eat 2 or 3, maybe 4 if you have a larger appetite but not on a training diet!) and very nutritious. You've got lean proteins from the chicken, vitamins from the avocados and fresh salsa, healthy fats in the avocados, and fiber in the corn tortillas. It's one of our favorite meals at home, though I do admit my kids like grated cheese in place of the salsa. Not to mention, it takes about 5 minutes to get dinner ready.

First, you buy a rotisserie chicken. Yes, I said "buy a rotisserie chicken." In the old days, I would have roasted one myself, and you're certainly welcome to do that, but life is a bit busy right now and Costco has great rotisserie chickens.

Next, make some salsa. This is easy, too, especially if you skip this step and buy freshly-made salsa. If you don't, I would combine 3-4 seeded, chopped large tomatoes (preferably local, they'll taste better), 1 medium onion, about 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, 1-2 chopped serranos, the juice of a lime, and salt to taste.

Now, select a ripe avocado. It should still feel fairly firm to the gentle grip, giving in only slightly. Slice the avocado.

Warm some corn tortillas in the microwave by wrapping them in a clean kitchen towel and heating them for about one minute.

Slice a lime in half.

To assemble, take a corn tortilla (or two, if you've got juicy salsa), and top with just a bit of chicken, a couple of slices of avocado, some fresh salsa, a squeeze of lime, and a sprinkle of salt. Don't try to overstuff your taco - you want to be able to fold it and eat it easily.

And there you have it. One of the best meals you can ever make, and it tastes just the same leftover. Enjoy!