The Cake Parade : part two

Yo whatUP?!!
feeling a bit rowdy this happy hour. Just received my LOST pint glasses, each with a different dharma logo on them...perhaps i shall drink a different beverage in each, to break them in. let's see - wine, milk, seltzer, bloody mary mix, salad dressing....
I best wait for the proper occasion.
moving on! Hung up a painting of migrating birds on my bare wall, this too makes me smile. planning trips to visit friends and see shows, weekend anticipation, and pleasant weather. all make a sunny robot a bit sunnier.
and so we find ourselves, onto part two of the great cake parade. we last left off consuming a light Zac Efron coconut cake. (i'll stop soon, i swear) today, we delve deeper into easter,with all things rabbit....Carrot Cake!
The plan had been Red Velvet, but isn't that always the plan. and plans are boring, and comfy...shmoops said to think outside the box. i panicked. we decided on carrot cake when we were in the frozen food section picking out dessert. (it was our night off! back off! we got turnovers, can you think of a better idea?) we happened upon a box of Sarah Lee(maybe?) carrot cake, when shmoops told me how much dan enjoys a good carrot cake. or a bad carrot cake, either way.
i don't have a recipe for carrot cake! panic! drama! this is where my odd inability to think "outside the box" comes into play...shmoops, always the cool calm and collected when i am not (and vice versa) suggests we look on the back of the sarah lee(?) box. the back read as such "sugar, sugar, sugar gum, corn syrup...chemicals, etc etc.**" but! if you squint real hard you can see the following, in some form: carrots, basic things every cake requires, pineapple, you have this all in your pantry.
so! we picked up some pineapple, we already had 50 lbs of carrots, and made our merry way home.
I quickly found this recipe, and it was a go. Upon reading the comments and review section of the recipe (a feature i strongly suggest taking advantage of) i saw that most comments mentioned that a) this recipe was fabulous, and b)it made a very small cake.
So i doubled the recipe, another thing i find highly stressful, but this worked perfectly, with no conversions necessary. a straightforward doubling of all ingredients.
This is what my Easter morning looked like: grating carrots, listening to my favorite baking album (Metric, Live It Out) and snacking on goodies the bunny left me.

Me still not believing carrot cake has pineapple in it...who knew?

getting ready to go in:

mmmm,the frosting. what's better than carrot cake? the cream cheese frosting that goes on a carrot cake...

chillin in the microwave til the time is right...

up close and personal:

I thought it was a success and i hope everyone who consumed it can agree.
it's been a pleasure, and now i bid you, adieu.



** i really really love entenmanns, lays potato chips, and all things processed so i'm not gonna knock chemicals...just trying to make a point.

The Cake Parade : part one

Good evening and welcome to the sunny robot happy hour! Pour yourself a glass of milk, or miller lite, or mint tea and snuggle on the couch next to loved ones. tell them a tale, a tale of knights and princes, damsels and white horses. or, tell them something they will actually enjoy; something they can believe in. tell them a story of cake.
Last weekend was Easter weekend. spent with friends and family and food and pastels. as any of my avid readers can tell you, my mom and i take menus quite seriously. i am generally in charge of desserts, a position i do not take lightly. you see, it's just me in this little apartment, which i do love, but sometimes i find it hard to justify making a 3 layer cake, or cupcakes shaped like mice or, well food beyond soup and grilled cheese. you know how it is, work all day, come home, do the hula, eat, watch some LOST. don't lie...i know i am not the only one out there....
anyway!
after much deliberation and about 20 emails back and forth we decided on a menu to please (hopefully) everyone. I made a Coconut Layer Cake. my dream cake....flawlessly white, moist, light, airy...clouds and heaven and angels singing and Zac Efron and all that good stuff.
This one turned out much better than my last attempt. the recipe can be found here. I made a change with the frosting, because it didn't fit my image of the Zac Efron style perfect light frosting i wanted. (did that just become a description?! i guess so....you know what i mean, ladies)
instead i made a simple whipped frosting, following a recipe from the classic and always inspiring Joy of Baking. I couldn't find the Cream of coconut needed for the cake at the snobbish whole foods (sorry John, Jena and Jen, i really love it!), but it was found at the neighborhood grocery store in Michellebletown, Emmanuels Marketplace.

this is the kitchen i got to use!! Rapture! Jeremy and Missy's kitchen in New Jersey. oh god....they have a standing mixer and really good knives and everything a hopeless little baker could ask for!

The Mysterious Cream of Coconut......

getting ready for assembly!

complete and ready to eat :)

Dig in!


The general consensus was good! it was nice and moist, i believe due to the buttermilk in the batter, and the frosting was simple yes, but classically yummy.A delightful contribution to the menu Shmoops so perfectly crafted; sans the ham, she had nothing to do with that. and really neither did I, or rather i didn't want anything to do with it:

that's all for now my pets....
now, finish up your drink, kiss your loved one goodnight, and promise them tales for another night.
xo-TSR