Carrot Cake

I've tried posting this before my birthday (April 12th), but my internet connection was acting up!! It seems like carrot cake is an International favorite, cause i have made this cake already 2x's in the past 2 weeks, and everyone seems to get so excited to eat it!
I have found this recipe from the website "Joy of Baking". Anyhow i know that there are a zillion recipes for making carrot cake but i must say this is a keeper in my recipe book; super moist, a good balance of flavor too, and its not a difficult recipe to follow. Along with this recipe came along another Cream Cheese Frosting recipe, which comes out a little different from the other one i posted previously. You will have to see which one you like the best!

Carrot Cake Ingredients:
1 cup Walnuts, toasted and chopped
2 1/2 cups Carrots, finely grated
2 cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Salt
1 1/2 Cinnamon
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups Sugar
1 cup Oil, vegetable or canola
2 tsp Vanilla
*my added twist: ground Ginger and ground Nutmeg (1/2 tsp each) (optional)

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients:
1/4 cup Butter, softened
8 ounce package Cream Cheese
2 cups Powdered Sugar, sifted
1 tsp Vanilla
finely grated lemon zest from 1 Lemon

Carrot Cake Method:

• Pre-heat oven 350 degrees, grease cake pan and put wax paper at the bottom.
  
• Take the walnuts, put onto baking pan, and bake in the oven (about 8min) till lightly toasted.
• Grate carrots, set aside (i use a food processor, much quicker).
  
• Combine in a medium bowl: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon (ginger and nutmeg optional)
• In another bowl, add the eggs and beat until frothy (about 1min) with mixer.
• Gradually add sugar to eggs (about 3-4min) continually with mixer.
  
• Add oil in a steady stream, than add vanilla to mixture.
• Add flour mixture to the egg mixture.
• Fold in Carrots and chopped walnuts.
• Bake about 30 minutes (depending on size of cake pan)
• Let cool before spreading the frosting onto cake
  

Cream Cheese Method:

• beat the butter and the cream cheese together with mixer, on low speed (no lumps)
• gradually add the sifted powdered sugar until smooth
• finally beat in the vanilla and lemon zest

Now spread this lovely frosting over the cake!!! Enjoy!!!

**p.s. the photo is from the website itself www.joyofbaking.com...sorry i didn't make a photo of my own. It shows a double layer cake, i just made a one layer cake, so u would divide the cake batter into 2 cake pans to make a double cake!

Deviled Eggs

Easter's a coming Ladies!!! Well this year celebrating Easter will be different for me since i'll be celebrating here in Turkey. I'll be preparing some easter treats for the turkish students at the English School, this coming sunday, where i teach english :). So here's a recipe that i think most people know how to make and there are a ZILLION ways to make deviled eggs i know.
This recipe is a basic recipe and with some tabasco to add some ZING to it. So i'd like to share this recipe with you all cause i like the constancy of all the ingredients!
I hope to post more recipes this week cause i'm going to try and make Easter bread.

Ingredients:
1 dozen Eggs
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/3 cup Mayonaise
1 tbsp minced onion or shallot
1/4 tsp Tabasco
Salt and Pepper to taste
Dash of Paprika powder
Garlic (i love garlic so i usually add a few toes to the mix) (optional)
Parsley (optional)

Method:

• Boil eggs (it takes usually 10-12 minutes), let eggs cool. Take the shell off the eggs, than cut eggs in half, and put the egg yolks into a bowl.
  
• Add dijon mustard, mayonnaise, minced onion/shallot, tabasco, salt and pepper, and garlic to the egg yolks; mix with fork (it leaves it chunkier) so for a smoother consistency use a processor.
• Put egg yolk mixture back into the egg halves.
• Sprinkle some paprika powder over the eggs and i usually finish it off with a little parsley on top too, just for the presentation!

P.S. photo is not my photo, sorry but its just to give an idea of how the finished product should look! I'll make a photo when i am finished making them today!

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

So here's what i'll be making soon for my guests tonight for the Turkey-Spain Soccer match!!! I think this recipe is a great appetizer especially when there's a little alcohol involved :). As most of my recipes i've found this once again on www.allrecipes.com a few years ago.

Ingredients:
1 (8ounce) Cream Cheese
1/4 cup Mayo
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese
1/4 cup Romano Cheese
1 clove Garlic, minced
1/2 tsp Dried Basil
1/4 tsp Garlic Salt
1/2 cup Spinach (frozen)
Salt & Pepper to taste
1/4 cup Mozzarella

Optional:
Sun-dried tomatoes (a few), chopped (this is my little added twist to the recipe)

Method:

• Pre-heat oven to 175 degrees C (350 degrees F??) and grease pan/or casserole dish.
• In a large bowl add cream cheese, mayo, parmasen cheese, romano cheese, garlic salt, dried basil, garlic, salt and pepper. (if you have a processer its better)...mix well.
  
• Gently stir in artichoke, spinach, and mozzarella cheese. Put into greased pan/casserole dish.
• Bake for 25 minutes or until the top is bubbling and brown!

Serve with chips or french baguette, I also even slice up some tortillas and fry them into chips (wonderful)....

Cream Cheese Frosting

So this recipe i found a few years ago, probably off of www.allrecipes.com (which i have been using for years), you can find wonderful recipes from there! This frosting goes also great with carrot cake, pumpkin nut bread, etc...

Ingredients:
1 (3 ounce) package Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 cup Butter, softened
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 cups Powdered Sugar

Method:

1. Cream together butter and cream cheese. Then stir in vanilla.
2. Next add powdered sugar. Beat with mixer slowly till smooth.

Enjoy :)

Cinnamon Pecan Coffeecake

So i've just got done baking this cake, my apartment smells wonderful! I found this recipe off of www.bakespace.com and it's a cake i'd eat
if i had some friends over for tea or coffee in the late afternoon. The cake itself is most and the cinnamon is not overwhelmingwhich i like. I'm going to add a Cream Cheese frosting, which i'll post the recipe after this one cause i think it'll be the right touch, so after that firstbite you'll be
saying mmmmm :):) hehe

Ingredients:
2 cups Flour
1 1/4 cups Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Salt
3/4 cup Unsalted Butter, softened
1 cup Sour Cream
1/4 cup Milk
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract

TOPPING Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup Pecans, chopped
1/4 cup Sugar
2 tsp Cinnamon

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 f (175 c). Line a 13x9x2 inch baking dish with a 12x5 inch sheet of baking paper.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Blend flour mixture with butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Combine sour cream, milk, eggs, and vanilla; add dry ingredients. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth and fluffy.
4. Combine TOPPING ingredients: pecans, sugar, and cinnamon.
5. Spoon half of batter into baking paper lined baking dish.
6. Sprinkle half of TOPPING ingredients of half of batter.
   
7. Pour rest of batter and top with the other half of topping ingredients.
8. Bake for 35-40 minutes!

Enjoy!

Extreme Banana Nut Bread

Thank you candace for inviting me to the Recipe Round-up! Well i'm a friend of Ambers and saw this recipe round-up blog and thought it would be great to join cause i love to cook and especially bake. I hope you all will enjoy the recipes as much as i do making and eating them, hihi.

So this recipe i found a few years ago on a website called allrecipes.com, so i can't give all the credit to myself but if you love bananas as much as i do and i've added my own little twist (chocolate chips) you will surely love this bread!

2 cups Flour
1 tsp Salt
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 cup Unsalted Butter, softened
2 cups Sugar
2 cups Banana's mashed (i use very ripe banana's)
4 cups Eggs, beaten
1 cup Walnuts, chopped
1 cup Chocolate Chips (optional)

• pre-heat oven to 175 C (sorry i have an oven with Celsius) and grease 2 loaf pans.
• in large bowl mix flour, salt, and baking soda.
• in separate bowl mix butter and sugar until smooth.
  
• stir in banana's, eggs, and walnuts.
  
• pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, after that is mixed add chocolate chips.
• divide batter evenly into 2 loaf pans.
• bake for 60-70 minutes.
  

I usually enjoy a piece of this bread with a big glass of milk!!!