Marian Burross Carrot Cake Food

THE BEST CARROT CAKE

Steps:

• For the cake: Arrange a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray. Line the bottoms with parchment paper rounds and lightly coat the paper with spray.
• Cover the raisins with very hot water and let sit until plump, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain.
• Toast the pecans on a rimmed baking sheet until fragrant and browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Let cool, and then chop 1 cup of the pecans; reserve for the cake batter. Pulse the remaining 1/2 cup pecans in a food processor until very finely ground; reserve for garnish.
• Combine the carrots and buttermilk in a medium bowl. Whisk the flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a large bowl. Beat the eggs, brown sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until pale and thick, about 4 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium-low and gradually stream in the oil. Add the dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with the carrot mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until smooth. Fold in the raisins and chopped pecans with a rubber spatula. Scrape the batter evenly into the prepared pans.
• Bake the cakes, rotating the pans halfway through, until a toothpick inserted into the center of each cake comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let the cakes cool for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the sides of the cakes and invert onto the rack. Remove the parchment and let the cakes cool completely.
• For the frosting: Beat the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and gradually mix in the confectioner' sugar. Increase the speed to high and beat until the frosting until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
• To assemble the cake: When the cakes are completely cool, trim the domes of each cake round with a large serrated knife so the tops are flat. Place one cake, cut-side down, on a platter. Spread 1 1/2 cups of the frosting evenly over top. Place the remaining cake, cut-side down, on top. Spread the top with another 1 1/2 cups of the frosting. Frost the sides of the cake with another 1 1/2 cups frosting and smooth out completely to make an even crumb coat (It's ok if some of the cake shows through. This is just a base layer.) Refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the frosting set.
• Spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake, swirling decoratively if desired. Sprinkle with the finely ground pecans.

MARIAN BURROS'S CARROT CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease bundt-style pan or 10-inch springform pan with center hole.
• Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; set aside.
• Beat together applesauce, sugars, egg whites and orange rind and juice.
• Blend in flour mixture with mixer at medium speed, beating only until smooth. Do not overbeat.
• Stir in carrots and raisins.
• Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 50 to 60 minutes or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean. Remove cake from pan, or, if using springform, remove sides of pan and put cake on wire rack to cool completely. Spoon orange glaze over cake and serve.

CARROT POTATO PANCAKES

Steps:

• Peel the potatoes, and cut them into long strips. Process the potatoes, using the julienne blade of a food processor. Squeeze out the excess liquid with your hands.
• Peel the carrots, and process them using the julienne blade of the food processor.
• Mix the potatoes, carrots, garlic, thyme, flour, baking powder, salt and pepper together in a bowl.
• Whisk together the egg and egg whites, and stir them into the potato-carrot mixture.
• Heat a large nonstick pan until it is very hot. Reduce the heat to medium-high, and spray with nonstick spray.
• Spoon heaping tablespoons of batter into the pan, and flatten slightly. Brown on one side, and turn to brown lightly on the second side.
• Repeat until all the batter is used. Serve with light sour cream.

CARROTS WITH ORANGE AND CARDAMOM

Steps:

• Using thinnest slicer of food processor, slice peeled carrots, or slice on mandoline or by hand.
• Squeeze orange, reserving both juice and pulp.
• Saute carrots with cardamom in hot butter for about 15 minutes. Add orange juice and pulp. Season with pepper and cook until tender.

ORIGINAL PLUM TORTE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cream the sugar and butter in a bowl. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and eggs and beat well.
• Spoon the batter into a springform pan of 8, 9 or 10 inches. Place the plum halves skin side up on top of the batter. Sprinkle lightly with sugar and lemon juice, depending on the sweetness of the fruit. Sprinkle with about 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, depending on how much you like cinnamon.
• Bake 1 hour, approximately. Remove and cool; refrigerate or freeze if desired. Or cool to lukewarm and serve plain or with whipped cream. (To serve a torte that was frozen, defrost and reheat it briefly at 300 degrees.)

FLOURLESS CARROT CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the middle. Oil a 9-inch springform pan, and line it with parchment. Lightly oil the parchment.
• Combine the almonds and the turbinado sugar in a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Blend until the almonds are finely ground. Add the baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and lemon zest, and pulse together.
• Beat the eggs until thick in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or with an electric beater. Add the organic sugar, and continue to beat until the mixture is thick and forms a ribbon when lifted from the bowl with a spatula. Beat in the vanilla. Add the almond mixture and the carrots in three alternating additions, and slowly beat or fold in each time.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan. Place in the oven, and bake one hour until firm to the touch and beginning to pull away from the pan. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. Remove from the heat, and allow to cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of the pan, and carefully remove the spring form ring. Allow the cake to cool completely, then wrap tightly in plastic.

CARROTS IN CUMIN-MUSTARD SAUCE

Steps:

• Fill steamer with water and bring to a boil.
• If using whole carrots, peel and slice them.
• Place carrots in steamer over boiling water and steam about 7 minutes.
• Combine butter, lemon juice, mustard, and cumin in serving dish and mix well.
• When carrots are tender, drain and place in serving dish with butter mixture.
• Toss well to coat.
• Serve immediately.

MOROCCAN CARROT SALAD

Steps:

• Bring 2 large pots of water to boil. Add the carrots and cook just until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain and set aside. Meanwhile, add the Swiss chard to the second pot of water and blanch for 5 minutes. Drain and immediately plunge into a bowl of cold water. Drain, press out all of the water, chop coarsely and set aside.
• Whisk together remaining ingredients except salt and pepper. Add the carrots and Swiss chard and toss. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.