Carrot Cake & Roger's Cream Cheese Icing Recipes

Following up on a request make by Barbara a while back, Dorothy sent me these recipes.

The following is the email Dorothy sent:

Barbara requested this recipe: Carrot Cake & Roger's Cream Cheese icing recipes out of the ( Ballinger) The Joy of Gardening Cookbook. I was wondering if this is the one she wanted.

For Preparing the Pan
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter or solid vegetable shortening, softened
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

For the Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 extra-large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups grated peeled carrots (about 3 large carrots)
1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 cup golden or dark raisins

For the Frosting (Makes: 3 generous cups)
1 pound cream cheese (not the whipped or reduced-fat variety) at room temperature
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar (if sugar is lumpy, sift first, then measure)
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

RECIPE METHOD

Preheat the oven to 350 F. with a rack in the center of the oven. Cut a 9 by 13-inch rectangle of parchment paper. Coat the sides and bottoms of the pan with some of the butter or solid vegetable shortening, then place the parchment paper liner in the pan and apply butter or shortening to the liner, too. Place the flour in the pan, shake to coat the pan with flour, then knock out the excess. Set aside.

Place a mesh sieve over a medium mixing bowl and add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Shake the contents into the bowl and set aside.

Crack the eggs into a measuring cup with a spout, stir lightly, and set aside. Place the oil, dark brown and granulated sugar, and the vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Use the mixer on medium speed to beat the ingredients together until the sugars have dissolved and the mixture is smooth except for some small lumps of dark brown sugar that might remain, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula several times while mixing. Add the eggs to the mixture and beat on medium speed until they are incorporated, about 2 minutes more. Scrape the sides of the bowl well.

Turn the mixer to lowest speed and add the flour mixture. You win have to use a rubber spatula to mix the flour into the wet ingredients. Beat until the mixture is smooth and no traces of flour are apparent, occasionally scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the carrots, nuts, and raisins, and stir with a rubber spatula until they are just combined, about 1 minute. Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and dry, about 40 minutes.

Remove the cake from the oven and cool it in the pan for 20 minutes, then turn it out carefully onto a wire rack, remove the parchment paper liner, and allow the cake to cool completely. Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting.

The baked and cooled unfrosted cake, out of its pan, can be refrigerated, wrapped in plastic wrap, for up to 3 days. It may also be frozen for up to 3 months. Wrap the cake securely in plastic wrap and place it in a freezer-strength recloseable jumbo-size plastic bag. Label the bag with a waterproof marker. Defrost the cake in its wrapping in the refrigerator or at room temperature, and then frost it.

Lora Says: The dark brown sugar in this cake contributes not only to its moistness, but adds a deeper, mellow taste associated with homey desserts like this one.

Lora Says: Be sure to use nice, fresh, firm, bright-colored carrots for this cake. They taste sweeter and are moister than carrots that have sat around awhile.

For the Frosting: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl. With the mixer set on medium high, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth, about 1 minute. Reduce mixer speed to low, add the confectioners' sugar, and continue to beat until smooth. Beat in the vanilla until it is thoroughly incorporated.

To frost the cake, use a flexible metal spatula to spread a thin layer of frosting on the four sides of the cake, then apply the remainder to the top. Use the spatula to distribute the frosting evenly and to create a swirled effect, if desired.

The frosted cake can be covered with plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. To avoid having the plastic wrap come in direct contact with the frosting, push about 10 toothpicks halfway into the cake at even intervals around the top. Drape a sheet of Plastic wrap over the toothpicks and loosely down the sides of the cake.

Lora Says: If you are going to transport this cake to a picnic or other informal affair, it would make sense to frost the cake in the pan after it has cooled. Cool the baked cake out of its pan on a wire rack. Rinse out the baking pan, dry it well, and invert it over the cooled cake on its cooling rack so that the pan encloses the cake. Hold the cake pan and rack together and flip the whole thing over so that the cake is back inside the pan. Use a flexible spatula to spread the top of the cake with frosting. Unless you are pretty heavy-handed with the frosting, there will be some left over, since you aren't frosting the sides of the cake.”

(Editor's Note: Not sure who Lora is!)

In the next day or so I will be posting a group of recipe requests. Visit again soon!

More Lost Recipes

Haven't posted for a while -- sometimes life gets in the way of what I want to do!

Below are some requests for lost recipes. If you have posted a request, please check the comments to see if you recipe has turned up!

Lost Recipes….

Black Walnut Cake
"Hi just found your site today, and love it. I have been looking for a long lost black walnut loaf cake w/sugar glaze that I got from the Southern Planter magazine in the 1950's that was published in Richmond, Va. love to find this recipe. thank you." Alice

Butter Cake
"Dear Heritage Recipes,Some 20 years ago we lived in New Jersey across from Philly and ourneighborhood had an excellent bakery. They made the most wonderful"cake" they called Butter Cake. It wasn't cake in the sense you'dnormally think of. There was a cakey type bottom layer topped with abuttery sweet gooey topping that was baked together (I think). Thewhole thing was only about 2 or so inches high. We enjoyed it formany years when all of sudden the bakery was sold and the new ownerschanged the recipe, or didn't have the old one, and the toppingtasted like it had a marshmallow base. Not good at all. I've beensearching for a true recipe but the only ones I find use a yellowcake mix for the "crust". A few days ago I came across one thatdidn't at Cookingcache.com. It was called Philadelphia German ButterCake Recipe but it just doesn't cut the mustard although it's close. Our entire family would be most appreciative if you could help. Longing for true Butter Cake!" Tamie and Chuck

Cookie Recipe from Texas
"About 1985 there was a cookie recipe published in the Austin (Texas) American Statesman. As I recall, it had been developed by a kindergarten teacher. It uses cream cheese and both white and brown sugars. The dough is very moldable and can be baked as long as necessary depending on size and thickness of "creations." I like its flavor and the fact that numerous re-rollings of scraps don't adversely affect it. We like to make cutout Christmas cookies which we decorate with egg yolk paint prior to baking. I would certainly appreciate your help in recovering it." Anna Marie

Holiday Yeast Bread Recipe
"Hello, I have lost a treasured holiday yeast bread recipe that I have used for over 30 years. The recipe is a yeast bread with quick oats, flour, sour cream in the bread. It is raised once, than rolled out and filled with cream cheese whipped. It than raises again. The bread is filling and delicious. I am trying to make it from memory but hope to find the original. I think it was featured as a Easter bread originally, however my family loves it all year at the holidays.Thanks for your help!"

Oatmeal Softies Cookie Recipe
"Am looking for an Oatmeal Softies Cookie recipe that was in the Family Circle or Woman's Day Magazine, probably in the 1980's. It had flour of course, white and brown sugars, a couple eggs, baking soda, maybe also baking powder?, vanilla, and chopped nuts, and oatmeal. Can't remember proportions, or whatever else it may have had, if anything. I've searched high and low, can't find it, and tried some on-line searching also. Please help! I miss these wonderful cookies." Bette

Sweet and Spice Pickle Recipe
"I'm looking for a good old fashion pickled recipe it is sweet and spice. can you help me find one , thank you. PS really enjoy your web site it's grate glad I found it a lot of the recipes bring back a lot of memories of my mother and grand mothers cooking. Thanks. Billy
Molasses CakeMy mother is 92 years old and going strong. She has been talking about and searching for a recipe for the molasses cake her mother made using cornmeal and spices. Any help in providing one will be appreciated greatly. Thanks in advance," Brenda

Silver Cake
"I was recently informed of a cake recipe from the 1920s that was calledsilver cake and had an icing to go with it... I don't know much about itother than the name was something like that and I think it had to dosomething with the way it looked when it was finished. Can you help me findit??"

Thanks for your help! Holly