Carrot & Zucchini Cake Bars

During this time of year it is so easy to over indulge in all the sweets, cookies and cakes around the house. This a recipe for a great treat that fulfills the want for something sweet, but sneaks some healthy vegetables in, too. I have always been a lover of carrot cake and these little bars and the perfect size for that sweet (but not excessive) treat.

Recipe yields 16 bars

Ingredients
2 large eggs
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
1 cup shredded zucchini
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp baking soda

Frosting:
8 oz light cream cheese
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 tsp lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix together the eggs, brown sugar, oil, honey and vanilla extract.

Shred the carrots and zucchini. Fold them into the mixture along with the walnuts. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, ginger and baking soda. Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just incorporated, being sure not to over mix.

Pour batter into a well greased baking pan (13X9). Bake for 25-28 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and let cool completely in the pan. In the meantime, combine all ingredients for the frosting and mix together using a hand mixer or your stand mixer.

Cut into bars and top with the frosting. Enjoy!

Angel Food Cake

Work has been crazy and I have been neglicting you all for a few days. But I think I know just the way to earn your forgiveness. Today I bring to you a light, airy and delicious angel food cake. Angel food cake may be one of my favorites because it hits your sweet spot without throwing off your entire week of eating healthy. Also, it pairs so well with fresh berries, it is a great way to up your serving of fruit for the evening. After a long week, this was just the cake I needed.

Recipe yields 1 cake

Ingredients 

1 3/4 cups superfine sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup cake flour

12 egg whites (I used a carton of egg whites because I didn't want 12 egg yolks to go to waste)

1/3 cup warm water

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2/ tsp cream of tartar 

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Sift together the flour, salt and 3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp of the sugar and set aside. 

In a large bowl, add your egg whites, water, vanilla extract and cream of tartar. Use a balloon whisk to combine ingredients until they begin to foam. 

Switch to a hand mixer and beat the egg whites while sifting in the remaining sugar. Continue to beat until medium peaks form.

Sift in 1/3 of the flour mixture and use a spatular to fold the mixture into the egg whites. Continue the folding process until all flour is incorporated.

Prepare a bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray or butter and flour. Pour in the batter and place the cake in the oven. Bake for 35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. The top of the cake should be golden brown.

Remove from the oven and invert on a cooling rack. Let the cake cool for 30 minutes upside down before removing it from the pan.

Slice the cake and serve it alongside some fresh berries and homemade whipped cream. A light and delicious treat, perfect for a warm summer evening.

Blueberry Pecan Coffee Cake

This coffee cake is so delicious. The cake is moist and the crumble is packed with flavor from the pecans. I made this to bring with me to a birthday party for dessert. Once I took one bite, I knew I would soon be craving it alongside my morning cup of tea. This cake can also easily be altered to include chopped apples, strawberries or any other berries.

Recipe yields one cake (about 16 squares)

Ingredients
1 cup + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp canola oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup fresh blueberries

Crumble:
2 tbsp unsalted butter (cold)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Prepare an 8"x8" baking pan by lining with foil and coating in non-stick cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk together to combine.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and oil until evenly combined.

Add in the sugar and mix until smooth and incorporated.

Add in the eggs, one at a time, the milk and the vanilla extract. Mix until all ingredients are well combined.

Slowly add in the flour mixture and continue to mix until just incorporated. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl to mix in all the ingredients.

Pour your batter into the prepared baking pan.

In a separate bowl, mix together the blueberries and the remaining tablespoon of flour until all blueberries have a nice coating. This process helps the berries from sinking to the bottom of the batter and allows the berries to remain 'floating' in the cake. Drop the berries on top of the batter and gently push down with the back of a spoon.

Now we can put together our crumble for the top of the cake. In a new bowl, combine the cold butter and sugar. Using a pastry blender or a knife, cut the two together until crumbles begin to form. Add in the pecans and continue to mix together until combined.

Sprinkle the topping over the cake and gently pat down.

Place the cake in the oven and bake for 48-50 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan. Once cool, sprinkle the top with a little bit of powdered sugar. Cut into squares and serve for breakfast or dessert. Enjoy!

Super Moist Carrot Cake

Sorry for the lack of posts last week, my Internet was down. Luckily, it is now back up and running just in time for me to bring you this delicious treat. This carrot cake is so moist and flavorful all thanks to a few 'secret' ingredients. The oil keeps the cake moist and the pineapple really pumps up the flavor. This is such a classic recipe that is sure to please every time. I am the first one to admit I have an obsession with chocolate, but who doesn't love a good carrot cake.

Recipe yields 8-10 servings

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup canola oil
3 pineapple rings (from the can, in juice)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup walnuts

Frosting:
8 oz. light cream cheese
1/2 cup unsalted butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners' sugar

Start by preparing your pan with butter and flour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

In a larger mixing bowl, combine the sugar, oil and pineapple rings. Using a hand mixer or your stand mixer, blend together.

Add the vanilla and eggs, one at a time, blending together between each.

Finely shred the carrots into a bowl and set aside for now.

Add the dry ingredients into the wet and stir together until just incorporated. You want to fold the ingredients together and be sure not to overmix. Add in your carrots and half the walnuts and mix it all together.

Fill up your pan with your cake batter and place it in the middle of the oven. Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Once the cake is finished, remove from the oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes before moving to a wire cooling rack.

While the cake is cooling, prepare the frosting. In the bowl of your stand mixer, blend together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the vanilla and the sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Blend until the sugar is incorporated before adding more. You want your frosting to have a smooth consistency.

If you have the patience, slice your cake in half and make two layers. Add the extra icing in between the layers for a surprise filling. As I was in a bit of a rush to eat this cake, I made only one layer and coated the top with the icing. Decorate the top with rest of your chopped walnuts and if your ambitious, draw some carrots with colorful icing. Slice and enjoy!

Number 100!

Today's post marks my 100th post since starting my blog only four months ago. I cannot believe how much support and encouragement I have received. Thank you to all my readers!

In honor of my 100th post, today's post features simple vanilla cake with chocolate buttercream filling and whipped cream frosting with sprinkles. Perfect for any celebration!

Recipe yields 1 2-layer cake

Ingredients
Cake:
5 large egg whites
3/4 cup whole milk
2 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 3/4 cups cake flour, sifted
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
12 tbsp unsalted butter

Whipped Cream Frosting:
3 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Chocolate Buttercream Filling:
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp almond extract
2 tbsp heavy cream

Sprinkles, for decoration

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two round 8" pans by coating with butter and flour and lining with parchment paper. Set aside. In a small bowl, whisk together egg whites, 1/4 cup milk, and vanilla extract. Whisk until light and airy.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Add softened butter and the remaining milk to the dry ingredients and mix using an electric mixer.

Gradually pour the egg mixture into the other ingredients, continuing to mix in between each addition. Divide the batter in half and pour into the prepared pans.

Place in the oven and bake for 22-25 minutes. Check cake with a toothpick, if it comes out clean you are good to go. Remove cakes from oven and let cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and place on a wire rack to finish cooling completely.

While the cakes are baking and cooling, you can prepare you filling and frosting. Lets do the filling first. In a medium bowl beat butter with an electric mixer until smooth. You want the consistency to be ice cream like.

Add sugar and cocoa powder and beat until it has been completely incorporated with the butter.

Add the almond extract and heavy cream and continue to beat for 3 minutes. If your frosting isn't the consistency you desire, you can add more sugar to make it stiff or more cream to thin it out. Remember to add a little bit at a time when you are trying to get to where you want.

For the frosting, add heavy cream and sugar to a bowl. Beat on high speed until cream begins to thicken and forms stiff peaks on the mixers.

Once the cakes have cooled completely it is time to build our cake. Coat the top of one cake with the chocolate butter cream filling.

Top the edges of the second cake with the chocolate filling and then place it on top of other cake making sure both frosted sides match up.

Now cover the entire cake with the whipped cream frosting. I find it easiest to apply it roughly at first and then smooth it all out with a rubber or offset spatula.

Next I chose to cover the frosting with sprinkles, but that was more for a festive look and is totally optional.

Celebrate your special day (whether it is a blog milestone or just the first day of your favorite month!) Serve and enjoy!