Tuesday, Nov. 03, 2009

Carrot works for me as favorite cake to make -- and eat

While I truly enjoy savoring a good piece of dark chocolate, given the choice of eating chocolate cake or carrot cake, Bugs Bunny's fav wins paws-down.

I think the cake has a more substantial texture and blend of flavors. Carrot and spice cake give off this amazing aroma, too, and having one in the oven is heaven to me. It makes me think of home, a warm kitchen and someone to share a cup of hot cocoa with as I dig into a big slice of cake.

The last time I helped make carrot cake (I am always the sous chef when it comes to cakemaking in this household), it took forever to hand grate about 2 cups of carrots. It was worth it, but now I own a Microplane grater and I believe it will go more quickly.

This recipe is from an impeccable source: Retired White House pastry chef Ronald Mesnier. He offers a wonderful topping for these cupcakes, but if you don't want to go out and buy crystallized ginger, opt for your favorite cream cheese frosting.

FRESH CARROT CUPCAKES

For the cupcakes:

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups canola oil

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 cups sugar

3 cups shredded carrots

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Frosting of your choice

Or optional topping:

1 12-ounce jar apricot jam, strained, warm

1 1/2 cups canned pineapple chunks, drained and patted dry

1 carrot, peeled and finely shredded with a lemon zester or Microplane grater

2 tablespoons finely chopped crystallized ginger that has been dusted with sugar to keep it from sticking together

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.

Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl.

Place the eggs, oil, vanilla and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on high speed until the mixture resembles a runny mayonnaise, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Stir in the carrots and pecans.

Allow batter to rest for half an hour to an hour.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean, about 19 to 20 minutes.

Cool the cupcakes in their pans for about 5 minutes. Invert the cakes onto a wire rack and then re-invert them onto another rack so they are right-side up. Allow to cool completely.

Frost with your favorite icing or make the topping: Combine the warm jam and the pineapple in a medium bowl and toss until the pineapple is completely coated. Spoon some pineapple mixture on top of each cupcake. Combine shredded carrots and crystallized ginger in a small bowl. Place a pinch of the mixture on top of each cupcake. Makes 2 dozen cupcakes.

I get a newsletter regularly from Mt. Olive Pickle Co., in Mt. Olive, N.C. It always includes health tips and food advice, much of it unrelated to pickles. I liked the latest one I saved: Perk up your store-bought spaghetti sauce by stirring in some pesto right before you toss it with hot pasta.

If you want to get a newsletter or see it online, go to www.mtolivepickles.com.

Here's a recipe from a new cookbook, "Field Guide to Candy: How to Identify and Make Virtually Every Candy Imaginable" (Quirk, $15.95), by Anita Chu. In it she explains that the word candy comes from the Arabic word qandi, meaning sugar. The first candies, she says, were made in Egypt, where fruits were coated in honey to preserve them.

Use this method for pecans, walnuts, almonds or peanuts.

CANDIED NUTS

2 egg whites

1 tablespoon water

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup light-brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups halved pecans, walnuts, almonds or peanuts

1. Heat the oven to 250 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Mix egg whites with water in a small bowl until frothy.

3. Combine in another bowl sugars, cinnamon and salt.

4. Add nuts to the egg whites; stir to coat. Toss the nuts in the sugar mixture to coat.

5. Place the nuts on a single layer on the baking sheet. Bake, stirring every 15 minutes, for 45 minutes.

Makes about 2 cups of nuts. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 months.

Here's how to reach me: Phone, 239-2664; e-mail, sboyle@bnd.com; or write, Suzanne Boyle, Belleville News-Democrat, P.O. Box 427, 120 S. Illinois St., Belleville, IL 62222-0427.