Once You Start a Task, See It Through to the End

I think I was like most kids, I really loved my grandparents. For me, they became the people I loved the most, even more than my parents. Parents were the ones that had the duty of discipline and expressly teaching responsibility. They were the two that I often times didn’t like. I know I must have frustrated them at times, but my grandparents were special. Of both sets of grandparents, our maternal grandparents were the ones that we spent the most time with. My brother and I would spend entire summers with them while we would only spend a week or so during the summer with my dads parents and the rest of his family. We would also spend Christmas and other holidays with my moms parents. That's just the way it worked out, no other reason I think accept they had the means and resources to be with us more often (and us with them) even thou there were 1200 miles between us.

When I first thought about doing a food blog for my kids, the first things that came to mind was my grandmother making Vienna Sausages in Tomato Gravy, funny I know! But every time I make a cake, I think of her - one summer in Louisiana - a failed attempt at my first cake (from a box even) and her gentle words of what could have gone wrong.

So at the age of 12-ish I got everything ready: chocolate cake mix (Devils Food), oven on, other ingredients out, pans prepared, mixer, beater, bowl, spatula. Right, mix for 3 minutes until the color lightens and the consistency changes just a little, done. But instead of finishing, I got distracted (by what I don’t remember) maybe the TV, but I went into the den (right off the kitchen) and sat down with my grandmother (I guess it was the TV).

So when I remembered that I was still in the middle of “the cake”, I got back into the kitchen and turned the mixer back on “to make sure it was still good and mixed.” I continued with my instructions, dividing the batter between the pans and putting it all into the oven. Of course I didn’t realize when they were done, that they hadn’t risen. I continued with removing them from the pan, cooling on a wire rack and frosting. Excited to receive accolades of my prodigious baking I gave my dear grandmother a slice.

Well what I had made was hardly reminiscent of a cake except it was sweet. Tough, flat and only worthy of the birds. I can not say with any certainty “No birds were harmed in the making of this cake.”

I had cut a piece for me as well, so we sat and ate together (well “ate” is somewhat of an exaggeration you can imagine by now). She kindly explained that I shouldn't have turned the mixer on a second time, that I beat all the air out of the batter, and that once you start a cake, finish it.

So here is one of my favorite of cakes and maybe one of the most forgiving. Because of the carrots and nuts, it comes with texture so if its not perfect, you’ll still make taste buds dance.

Carrot Cake

Preheat oven to 350F

2 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

Combine and sift together and set aside

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

Combine eggs and sugar and mix on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. The color will change to light, pale and lemony. You’ll also notice the consistency change just a little, its called ribboning. You’ll see it in the pattern left by the beaters. Add

1 1/2 cup vegetable oil

Flour Mixture

Stir oil and flour mixture into sugar and eggs and mix for 2 minutes.

3 cups grated carrot

Stir into the batter just until combined

Pour into 3, 8” prepared cake pans

What does “prepared” mean? The old books (and I guess even the newer editions) say to butter and flour the pans. That is to spread a small amount of butter or fat over the inside of the pan, bottom and sides. Next it is to spoon in a little flour and to knock it around the pan, creating a dusting of flour, sticking to all the butter and then knocking the extra flour out of the pan, into the sink or trash bin. Now, they say, that the pan is ready for filling with your carefully prepared batter.

Years ago I read that you shouldn’t butter and flour the sides because it kept the batter from raising properly up the sides. The flour essentially kept the sides from rising while the center rising high. You end up with a cake layer thats not even top to bottom. While this works, one of the tricks of a baker is to get the cake out of the pan in one complete piece. Flouring the bottoms only, pieces of the bottom of the cake still stick and then it become a patch job with the icing.

The method I have settled on is much simpler and guarantees a smooth exit from the pan. Lightly butter or spray the pan with your favorite pan spray and cut a circle of wax paper or parchment paper to fit into the bottom of the pan. Thats really all you have to do. Comes out perfect every time. The butter or spray keeps the paper circle in place while you pour in the batter.

Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350F, 175C or gas mark 4

When done, remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. Then remove from pans and transfer to wire racks to cool completely

To check for doneness simply take a tooth pick or wooden skewer and pierce the middle (or thickest part) of the cake. Into the bottom and out. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. If it comes out with a bit of batter on the tooth pick, put it back into the oven for another 5 minutes and check it again in the same way. There is a “touch” test, but I never do this. Even if I don’t have a toothpick or skewer, I take a piece of straw out of the broom (make sure its clean) and use it in the same way.

Letting the cake cool is an important step. If you try to take the cake out of the pan as soon as it comes out of the oven, the cake is very tender and most likely will break apart when you try to handle it. So remove the pans from the oven, let them cool for about 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan and cake. Flip the pan over onto a wire rack and let it fall out. You can then peel off the wax paper. Perfect. Now if you don’t have wire racks, turn them out onto plates with the paper side down. This will allow you to pick the cakes up when cool and then peel off the paper - still perfect. After 10 minutes the fats in the cake are still soft and the cake is set enough and yet still warm enough to make it easy to get out of the pan. If you let the cakes cool completely in the pan, it is more difficult to get the cake cleanly out of the pan.

Now that your cakes are cool, they’re ready to frost.

Cream Cheese Icing

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

4 ounces butter, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

1 pound powdered sugar

Cream butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. About 2 or 4 minutes. Add the vanilla and powdered sugar. Mix on low speed until combined. On high, continue to mix until smooth. Stir in

1 cup chopped pecans

Any leftover icing can be stored in an airtight container

All ready to go. Mentally divide the batch of icing into 4 parts. Place a little dollop of icing in the middle of your plate. This will keep the cake moving around the plate while you try to frost it. Place the first layer on the plate and put about a quarter of the icing on the layer - pushing it to the edges. Repeat with the second and third layers. Use the last quarter of the icing on the sides. Even if its not the most beautiful cake, it will be much more delicious than my first attempt. Each cake you make will be lovelier than the last.

Now at some point in your baking career, if you ever want to use a piping tip to make a nice design on a smooth iced cake, add the nuts to the cake (with the carrots) instead of the icing. It will be lovely and smooth to put thru a bag.

This is the perfect cake to try first. Anyone you make it for will love it - almost fool proof - just remember, once you start, keep going till its in the oven.