Vermont Carrot Cake

I was in charge of the cake for my dad’s birthday and Father’s Day combined (we moved it to this week because all his children were busy last week…sorry dad :( ). I made him his favorite, carrot cake, with a moistening twist that’s delicious.

Blend:
2 cups sugar
3 eggs

Add:
2 cups flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Add:
3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups finely chopped carrots
1 cup crushed and drained pineapple
1 cup shredded coconut
Nuts and raisins optional

Bake in a 13×9 inch greased baking pan (I use glass) at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Frosting:
1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
8 oz cream cheese
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla

Chill, and enjoy.

Banana Bread Muffins

We had 2 bananas that were going brown that we needed to use last night.  I didn’t want to make banana bread partly because I have made it many times before, and partly because we would need more than 2 bananas.  Instead, Bade and I chose to make these banana muffins with brown butter glaze. They turned out really yummy.  Here is the recipe we used from whatscookingwithruthie.com.

Ingredients

• ½ C butter
• ½ C applesauce
• 
3/4 C sugar
• 
2 whole eggs and 4 egg whites
• 2⅔ C flour
• 
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (about ½ a lemon)
• 
2 tsp baking soda
• 4 overripe bananas- add one at a time

• ¼ C butter, browned on stove
• 2 C powdered sugar
• ¾ tsp vanilla
• 2-3 Tbsp lowfat milk

Instructions

1. Mix butter, applesauce, sugar and eggs.
2. Add flour.
3. Add lemon juice, baking soda and bananas.
4. Place half the batter into a gallon ziplock baggie, snip the end off, fill donut pan ⅔ the way full or pour into lined muffin tins.
5. Bake at 350 degrees. (Donuts 7-9 minutes, muffins 18-20 minutes). Cool in pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then turn out on rack to finish cooling.
6. In a small sauce pan melt butter over medium high heat, watch carefully when it reaches a medium brown color and nutty aroma remove from heat.
7. Whisk in 1 C powdered sugar at a time, adding 1 Tbsp milk as it thickens; adjust milk as necessary so it’s thick enough to stay on top of donuts.
8. Add vanilla, whisk until smooth.
9. Drizzle hot over the tops of donuts or muffins.

Fruit Pizza Recipe

Fruit pizza is a great dessert to bring to a summer/fall BBQ. Bade and I made this for a get together recently and it was a big hit. The recipe was from allrecipes.com.

Crust

• 1/2 c butter
• 3/4 c sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/4 c flour
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

Frosting

• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese
• 1/2 c sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla

1. Mix crust, and roll out to pan or cookie sheet size.  I like to make 4 circles in the 4 corners so you don’t have a soft doughy middle.  The 4 corners will spread out and connect with each other.
2. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 – 10 minutes until golden brown.
3. Once cook, spread frosting mixture over crust.  Note, the frosting mixture will be a light brown color because of the vanilla.  You can use white vanilla o avoid this, or add a little bit of powdered sugar to the top to lighten it up.
4. Chill.
5. Add fruit when you are ready to serve.  My favorite fruits to add are strawberries, kiwis, bananas and blueberries.

Grilled Peaches And Cream

It is warming up outside, which means its grilling season.  Ok, so it isn’t that warm at Bade’s house yet, but it is warm enough where I don’t feel bad making him go out and grill.  So tonight, we cooked up New York Strip steak with red bell peppers and mushrooms on a kebab, with buttered squash in tin foil. For dessert, I drained a can of peaches (no added sugar, stored in water, not syrup) and sprinkled on 3-4 Tbsp brown sugar, and about 1 tsp of cinnamon.  Add a little butter to the mixture, and wrap up in tin foil. Grill on medium heat for about 15 minutes.  Serve over ice cream with maple syrup, and optional granola.  Next time I even want to add a little cake mix to the peach mixture to make it a little more like a cobbler.