Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

A carrot cake is one of my all-time favorite desserts.  It's sweet, crunchy, warm topped with a creamy cream cheese frosting - what's not to love?

Every year for the last 5 years or so, a family friend has brought us a carrot cake for Christmas.  I look forward to it every year, as she makes the best one I've ever had.  This year, husband's mom asked if there was anything I wanted them to bring from home when they came for Christmas (assuming I'd request BBQ...again).  I (half-jokingly) said "Please tell Debbie to make me a carrot cake!  The clan decided to not disappoint the brand new mamma, so Debbie baked a cake and the Alfords drove it to Boston!  What love.

This Easter, I was asked to bring a carrot cake to dinner.  I knew just who to call for a recipe.  Debbie was kind enough to share her recipe with me - and agreed to let me share it with all of you!



Ingredients

Cake
2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 cups self-rising flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp vanilla
1.5 cups vegetable oil
3 eggs
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup roughly chopped pecans (toasted optional)

Icing
1 stick butter, softened to room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 box (1 lb) powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
2-3 Tbsp milk (add a little at a time to get the right consistency)
Optional: 1/4 cup roughly chopped pecans (or more if desired)

Directions

Cake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut wax paper to fit bottom of 2 round cake pans.  Grease pan & place wax paper in bottom.
Mix sugar, baking soda, flour & cinnamon in large bowl or mixer.
Make a well in the dry ingredients.  Add oil.  Add eggs 1 at a time.
Add vanilla, nuts and carrots and mix well.
Pour batter evenly into pans.
Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, testing for doneness with toothpick.
Cool in pan on rack for 10 minutes.  Flip layers onto cooling rack.

Cream Cheese Icing
Mix wet ingredients (except milk) together until smooth.
Add powdered sugar.
Add milk a little at a time until you reach desired consistency.
Optional: Stir in pecans, or sprinkle on top

Once cake has cooled, ice between the layers, top and sides of cake.

Optional: sprinkle top or around the rim with chopped pecans or grated carrots.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Cheesecake with Chocolate Chips

A few weeks ago, I shared a recipe for Chocolate Chip Cheesecake we made while in NC.  There were a bunch of friends coming over that night, so one cheesecake wouldn't do - we needed two.  What a great excuse to make a Peanut Butter Cheesecake!

Travis' mom, Jenny, loves peanut butter more than anything (except dogwood trees...and, you know, us), so this was her favorite by far.  It's smooth, full of PB taste and has a sweetened sour cream topping...and chocolate chips to finish it off.  You really can't get much better than that!  This recipe was adapted from Southern Living too, so you know it's a goodie.



Ingredients
1.5 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 (8 ounce) packages of cream cheese, softened
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 + 3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/3 cups creamy peanut butter (we used Jiff)
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
Chocolate curls (or chocolate chips)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350.  Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter and cocoa.  Press into bottom and up the sides of a 9" springform pan.  Set crust aside.

Beat cream cheese and 1 cup brown sugar at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until blended.  Add 3 eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until yellow disappears after each addition.  Beat in 1/2 cup sour cream just until blended.  Beat in peanut butter until blended.

Pour filling into prepared crust.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until center is almost set.

Remove from oven.  Spread Sour Cream Topping over center of cheesecake, leaving a 2" boarder around the edge.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 more minute.  Remove from oven; gently run a knife around the edge of cheesecake to loosen.  Cool completely on a wire rack.

Cover and chill 8 to 12 hours.  Remove sides of pan.  Top with chocolate curls (or mini chocolate chips).

Enjoy!

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Last week, while we were back in NC visiting family (before my new job started), Travis' mom made two cheesecakes.  "Two???" you may ask?  Yep.  Because one just isn't enough.  :)  The first I'll share with you is a chocolate chip cheesecake.

Travis picked chocolate chip months ago, when he won a spur of the moment trivia game his mom sent him and his sister.  We were sitting on the couch when he got the email with instructions.  The first one to email her back with the correct answers to her questions would get to pick the cheesecake of their choice the next time they were home.  Travis just happened to be sitting at his computer when she sent the email, so poor Sarah didn't have a chance.

This cheesecake is quick to whip up and delicious.  Fluffy cheesecake loaded with mini chocolate chips...it's pretty perfect!  This is adapted from a recipe Jenny found online somewhere, but I'm not sure who to credit.
Remember...when in doubt...add more chocolate chips.

Ingredients

1.5 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup white sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 cup butter, melted

3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

3 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1.25 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 teaspoon all-purpose flour

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, butter and cocoa.  Press into bottom and sides of a 9" springform pan.  Set crust aside.

Beat cream cheese until smooth.  Gradually add sweetened condensed milk; beat well.  Add vanilla and eggs, and beat on medium speed until smooth.  Toss 2/3 cup miniature chocolate chips with 2 teaspoons flour to coat (this keeps them from sinking to the bottom of the cake).  Mix into cheese mixture.  Pour into prepared crust.  Sprinkle top with remaining chocolate chips.

Bake at 300 degrees F for 1 hour.  Turn off oven (do not open the oven door) and leave the cake in the oven to cool for another hour.  Remove from oven and cool completely.  Refrigerate before removing sides of pan.  Keep cake refrigerated until time to serve.

Enjoy!

Nutella Ice Cream with a Fluff Ribbon

My friend Ann loves Nutella more than almost anything else.  She says Nutella is the Swedish person's peanut butter (they eat it on everything) so when I was thinking of what kind of ice cream to make for our birthday girl's dinner, it didn't take me too long to decide.  Nutella ice cream with a little something extra - a fluff ribbon in the middle!

Ingredients
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup
4 egg yolks
1/2 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup Nutella (or another chocolate-hazelnut spread)
7 ounces Fluff (Marshmallow fluff)

Directions
In a saucepan, combine the milk, cream, and 1/2 cup sugar over medium heat.  Cook until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whip the egg yolks with the remaining sugar using an electric mixer until the eggs have become thick and pale yellow (about 4 minutes).

Pour 1/2 cup of the warm milk and cream mixture into the egg mixture, and stir.  Add this mixture back into the saucepan.  Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 7-10 minutes.

Place a strainer over a medium bowl and pour the warm custard mixture through the strainer.  Stir in vanilla and Nutella until it dissolves.  Cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight (cool completely) before pouring into an ice cream maker.  Follow manufacturer's instructions to freeze.

Once frozen, transfer half of the ice cream mixture into a Tupperware container and smooth out.  Then spread 5-7 ounces of marshmallow fluff on top of that, then spread the remaining ice cream on top.  Freeze container for 5-10 hours, then serve with an ice cream scoop (reaching all the way through the ice cream so each scoop has a ribbon of fluff through it!

Enjoy!

Tell Us Tuesday #5

Welcome to the Tell Us Tuesday party everyone!  We’re excited to see what you’ve been up to this week!  Stop by every Tuesday to link up your latest blog posts and show off what you’ve been doing, then check out the other links and find new bloggers to follow, inspiration for new projects, parenting tricks, or a new yummy dinner idea.

Since this party is hosted by several bloggers, your links will be on multiple sites!

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Your Co-Hosts

Much AdoAbout Somethin – Facebook Page – Twitter – Pinterest - Bloglovin'

One FineWire – Facebook Page – Twitter – Pinterest - Bloglovin'

Here's what your hosts have been up to this week...

One Fine Wire

Summer Summary - Summer is officially over Courtney's family, but they had such a blast this time around!

Simple Gifts - It's the time that matters, not the gifts.

Flower Lace Prints - One Fine Wire's Etsy Shop that you should check out!  Great, affordable gift ideas!

Much Ado About Somethin'

Baked Plantain Chips - A great tutorial on how to make a healthy and yummy snack!
Crock Pot Salsa Chicken - Two ingredient
How I Lost 40 Pounds - Tips to lose it the healthy way

This week's guest host is Ashley from Sabers, Spurs, and a Pink Stetson!  Ashley finally got through her first year as an army wife and learning to enjoy every moment of life!  Check her blog out immediately :)

Facebook - Pinterest

Now for some of the features from last week!

Food Features

I love mason jars.  I love strawberries.  I love dessert.  This post is a winner for me!

This Cheese Potato Casserole looks easy and perfect for a mid-week meal with the family.  The week's get so busy, but here is something that is do-able!

DIY Features

I have been wanting some shutters to cover my TV box in my family room and now I know how to make them!  Check out how to take bed slats and turn them in to beautiful shutters!


It's always great to see something you just never would have thought of!  A perfect example of this is Cara's re-purposed drawer turned in to a coffee table tray!

Ladies Tellin' It Like It Is

Such an informational post on how you can make money teaming up your blog with certain sites.  Websites that pay is always great!

If you were featured, grab a button!

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Last's week's giveaway was a feature of my new Etsy Shop - Flower Lace Prints!  To kick off the shop I wanted to do a giveaway tied to last week's Tell Us Tuesday.  Thank you to all of the entries last week but there could only be one winner.  The Flower Lace Prints Etsy Shop winner is:

#3 Katie @ The Casual Craftlete!  Send me an e-mail, Katie, to: cev0203@gmail.com.


Now to PARTY!  Just a few basic rules we’d love for you to follow:

- Tell us about your recipes, parenting tips, DIY projects, or your family vacation – we want to see it all!

- Follow each of us so you’ll never miss a party.  Follow on GFC, Bloglovin’, or your favorite reader – we’d love to hear from you!

- Add a party text link or button to your blog.  This helps us in exchange for letting ‘ya link up!  The more people that know about the party, the better.
- Click around – find a few links that interest you below and check them out!  Better yet, leave them a comment and tell them where you came from!
- Spread the word – Share the party on Facebook and Twitter so more can join in the fun.  The more people that find out about Tell Us Tuesday, the more it benefits you!  

- We’d also love for you to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.  We follow back! 
- By linking up, you’re giving permission for us to potentially feature your posts on the blog or social media.

An InLinkz Link-up

Chocolate Covered Trail Mix - Better than Moose Munch!

This past weekend, I was asked to make some chocolate covered strawberries to bring for a game night.  Since I was going to have lots of melted chocolate around the house anyway, I decided to recreate a treat someone brought us last Christmas.  The treat came from the Fresh Market in Raleigh and is similar to Moose Munch...only more delicious. How could there be a more a more fantastic chocolate trail mix treat, you may wonder?  Just wait...

This sweet snack has chocolate Chex, cashews, pretzels, popcorn, mini marshmallows, white chocolate, and dark chocolate.  Holy yum.  This recipe makes a lot of mix (as it should!) so it's perfect for parties, gifts, or just a nice way to solidify yourself as the most popular person in the office.

Ingredients

5.5 cups Chocolate Chex
1.5 cups pretzel sticks (broken in half)
6 cups kettle corn
1.5 cups cashews
1/2 cup white chocolate chips + 1.5 more melted
2-2.5 cups mini marshmallows
2.5 bags Ghiradelli Milk Chocolate Chips (11.5 ounce each)

Directions
Combine Chex, pretzels, pop corn, cashews, 1/2 cup white chocolate chips, and mini marshmallows in a large bowl.

Melt 2 11.5 ounce bags of milk chocolate chips in double boiler.

Then coat trail mix with melted milk chocolate.  There's two ways you can do this.  The first would be to pour the chocolate into the bowl and stir to coat.  Then spread the mixture evenly onto two large cookie sheets and let sit.

I decided to evenly pour the mix on two large cookie sheets.  Then I drizzled the chocolate on top, and moved it around with a spatula until everything was coated.

Then melt another half bag of milk chocolate chips and 1.5 cups white chocolate chips in different pots.  Drizzle white chocolate over the mix while spread on the cookie sheets.  Then drizzle the milk chocolate on to finish.  Let these set until chocolate completely hardens.  It's best to let the chocolate set at room temperature before setting in the refrigerator.  You want the chocolate to set at the temperature it'll be served at.

Once chocolate sets, break the mix into pieces.  Serve on a platter or section up into little baggies for gifts.  You're going to love it.

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for fantastic recipes, cake how-to's, and diy projects!

And while you at it...you should make some chocolate covered strawberries with the other 1/2 bag of milk chocolate.  :)

Peach Mango Smoothie

Once peaches come into season, I buy them every time I go to the grocery store.  Every. Time.  I haven't made peach ice cream yet (my all time favorite homemade ice cream), but it's coming soon!  I think my love for peaches was amplified by the ice cream supper my church had every 4th of July growing up.  Everyone made homemade ice cream and set up the machines outside so you could walk around and sample lots of flavors.  I was ALWAYS on the hunt for peach.  FBC Smithfield makes some mean ice cream!

This week I had some peaches that were on the verge of going bad, so I decided to make some smoothies with them.  Specifically, a mango peach smoothie.  Yum.

Ingredients

1 cup peaches

1 cup mango

1 banana

1/4 cup orange juice

Ice (5-8 cubes depending on how you like yours!)

Just pile the ingredients in your blender, and blend away!

What do you look forward to every spring/summer?

Strawberry Blueberry Rhubarb Crisp

Last week, Travis came home from a meeting with his teacher, Davy, with a few stalks of rhubarb.  Confession: I've been scared of rhubarb since I was old enough to know what it was.  Not frightened of the stalks themselves obviously.  More scared of the unknown of something that seemed SO unlikely to be paired with fruit...not having a clue what to do with it.

I stared at the stalks for a few days, trying to get up the nerve to use them.  Sunday, I remembered a blog I happened upon a few weeks ago for a Strawberry Blueberry Rhubarb Crisp.  Travis is more of a crisp person than a pie guy, so I thought this would be the perfect recipe to conquer my 'fear' with.  Our friends Laci, Christian, and their son Berkeley were coming over for dinner, and are such good friends that I felt ok about trying out a dish that might fail.  :)

Thank you, Eat More Veg, for helping me learn that I'm a rhubarb fan!  This berry rhubarb crisp is easy to make, tart AND sweet, has a pretty purple syrup, and smells delicious when cooking.  Top it off with some vanilla ice cream and it's perfect!

Ingredients

Filling
4 stalks of rhubarb, cut into 1" pieces (about 2 cups)
1 pint blueberries
1 pound strawberries, washed and quartered
1 cup sugar
1.5 Tablespoons cornstarch
3 Tablespoons orange juice

Crisp
1 cup flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 cup brown sugar
1.5 sticks cold butter cut into little cubes

Directions

Mix rhubarb, blueberries, and strawberries in a large bowl.  Add sugar, cornstarch and orange juice and stir to evenly coat fruit.  Spread evenly along the bottom of a pyrex dish.  I used a 9x9 dish because I wanted a thicker crisp, but you could also use a 13x9 pan - it'll just be thin!

In a medium bowl, mix flour, oats, and brown sugar.  Cut cold butter into small squares and add to crisp mixture.  Using a knife (or your clean hands), combine butter with dry ingredients.  Sprinkle crisp over the fruit, the bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes, or until crust is light brown and the fruit is blubbling!

Let the crisp sit for 15-20 minutes before serving.  Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and enjoy!