Classic carrot cake

Baked on a Friday evening, iced between macchiatos Saturday afternoon and lit for January birthdays Saturday night. Not the last one; the one before that. 

That's my speed these days: looooong baking, quickeating, slooooow blogging.

Carrot Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Cake:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups of grated carrots
1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
1/4 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated

zest of half an orange (you'll use the rest in the frosting)
1 cup + 2 tablespoons canola oil

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup of demerara sugar
4 eggs

Frosting:

500 grams (2 packages) full-fat cream cheese

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

zest of half an orange (see, what did I tell you?)

680 grams icing sugar

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease three 9-inch round baking pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper, grease the parchment paper, then dust the pans with flour. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Set aside.

In a second medium bowl, stir together the grated carrots, toasted walnuts, coconut, fresh ginger and orange zest. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the oil and sugars on medium-high speed for 5 minutes, until the mixture is smooth and light. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated. Stir in the add-ins (carrots, walnuts, etc.)

Divide the batter evenly between the three prepared cake pans. Bake for 35-40 minutes (Tara's took just 25-30 minutes, but my thicker layers needed more time) until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then flip them out to cool completely before frosting.

To prepare the frosting, beat the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and orange zest in a large bowl. Add the icing sugar and beat until smooth. Frost!

Source: This cake over at Seven Spoons, minus the raisins, in three layers instead of four, with orange-zested frosting.

Epiphany

Last Sunday, R. and I had a few friends over for galette des Rois. Originally a culinary marker of the Epiphany, a Christian holiday that celebrates the Magi's visit to the baby Jesus, our galette des Rois was more a small-e epiphany of the epicurean variety.

We were first introduced to galettes des Rois a few years ago, in Paris, when they started popping up in bakeries all over the city in early January. But king cakes, as they're called in English, have a rich and varied history around the world. In keeping with northern French convention, I filled two discs of puff pastry with rich almond paste—a homemade crème d'amande rather than the usual frangipane—to make a cake of sorts. Lacking a porcelain figurine and finding only small white beans in my pantry, I used a whole almond for the all-important fève (more on that here).

Pastries like this one aren't normally my first pick of desserts, but the tradition's timing won me over. It was a chance to revisit puff pastry while my new year enthusiasm for ambitious baking projects is still intact and an excuse to gather friends for a little fun before the post-Christmas doldrums set in.

And, wouldn't you know it, I drew the fève. Happy new year to me. 

Galette des Rois

500 grams all-butter puff pastry
1 porcelain trinket, dried bean or whole almond

Crème d'amande:
125 grams unsalted butter, softened
125 grams white sugar
130 grams finely ground almonds
8 grams cornstarch
pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 tablespoon rum or Grand Marnier
drop of almond extract

Egg wash and glaze:
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon icing sugar

Several hours before you plan to construct and bake your galette des Rois, prepare the crème d'amande. In a medium bowl, beat the butter until creamy. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar, ground almonds, cornstarch and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter and mix until smooth. Beat in the almond extract and liquor, followed by the eggs, one at a time. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.

When you're ready to construct the galette, prepare the egg wash by whisking together the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon water. Set aside.

Divide the pastry into two equal balls. Roll the first ball out into a circle that measures at least 30 centimetres in diameter, then trim to tidy. Repeat with the second ball, creating a slightly larger circle (approximately 31 centimetres in diameter).

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and place the smaller of the two pastry circles on top. Brush the outer 1-inch of the circle with egg wash, careful not to wet the edge of the dough.

Spoon the crème d'amande in the centre and spread it evenly within the egg wash ring. Place the porcelain trinket, dried bean or almond on top, near the outer edge, pressing it lightly so that it's even with the top of the filling.

Lay the second, slightly larger, pastry circle on top. Smooth it over the top of the crème d'amande to eliminate any air bubbles, then press the edges together to seal.

Use the back of a knife—the dull side—to draw a decorative pattern on top. Lightly brush the top of the galette with egg wash. Poke five holes in the top, one in the centre and four evenly spaced near the outer edge, to ensure an even rise.

Chill the prepared galette for at least one hour.

Preheat your oven to 360 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake the galette for 30 minutes until puffy and golden (mine took closer to 45 minutes).

In the final few minutes of baking, mix together 1 tablespoon of icing sugar and 1 tablespoon of hot water. Brush the nearly baked galette with the glaze and return it to the oven for a few more minutes.

Remove the galette from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack. The puff pastry will settle as it cools.

Serve slightly warm or at room temperature, according to the conventions described by Clotilde.

Sources: Homemade galette des Rois on Chocolate & Zucchini and classic puff pastry on Not Without Salt.

Note: The puff pastry recipe will make roughly double the amount of pastry you need for one galette.

Turning cakes + priorities upside down in 2012

And here we are in 2012. I'd wish you a happy new year, but it's feels a bit after the fact already. I spent the past week writing our new year's postcards, an annual tradition that has become Starbott's trademark answer to the rest of the world's Christmas cards. There is something deeply unsatisfying about all of those holiday greetings crossing paths in postal systems around the world: all declaration, no conversation. This way, we can actually respond to people's messages and provide (what I hope is) a bright spot in the otherwise disappointing mail month that is January.

I also spent the past week thinking about a theme for the new year. It's not that I'm against resolutions per se, but a theme is a more useful tool for guiding decisions all year long. Sort of like a compass to keep you headed in the right direction, regardless of what comes your way. 2010 was my first full year freelancing full-time, so my theme was "say yes"—to taking on new clients, pitching new publications, baking for more than hobby. 2010 was a good year. So good, in fact, that my theme in 2011 was along the lines of "it's OK to say no."

So where does that leave me this year? Well, I've noticed that blogging and other more creative writing projects consistently fall to the bottom of my to-do list. They make the list, but in a purely superficial sense, occupying roughly the same space as cleaning behind the oven or hanging those pictures we got framed last January.

In 2012, I'm going to turn things—my to-do list, in particular—on their head(s?). Grammar aside, I think turning things upside down just might be the way to start living right-side up.

"It’s not enough to be busy, so are the ants. The question is, what are we busy about?"
– Henry David Thoreau

p.s. Good news! I'm already putting my theme to work. My first act of to-do list defiance? Writing this post instead of dealing with Mount Dishmore in the kitchen.

How we started years past on The Casual Baker:
Croissants in 2011
Peanut Butter Blondies in 2010
Polka Dot Pumpkin Muffins in 2009
Brioche aux Pralines in 2008
Gingerbread Men in 2007

Cranberry Upside-Down Cake

Caramel:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 1/2 cups frozen cranberries, rinsed and patted dry  

Cake:
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
zest of one orange (optional)
1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup milk

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Begin by preparing the caramel. Melt the butter in a well-seasoned 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and simmer for four minutes, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat and quickly arrange the cranberries in a single layer on top of the caramel. Set aside.

Now, get started on the cake batter. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a second bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar, followed by the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla and orange zest (if using).

Add half of the flour mixture and beat just until combined. Mix in the orange juice and milk, followed by the rest of the flour mixture.

Spread the batter carefully and evenly over the cranberry/caramel mixture, right up to the edges of the skillet. Don't be alarmed if the cranberries have started to melt and a bit of water has begun pooling around the edges. Spoon off a little bit of the water if you're able/worried, but know that my cake turned out just fine.

Bake the cake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the skillet for 5 minutes before attempting the big flip.

For the moment of truth, invert a plate over the skillet and press them firmly together. Say a quick prayer, then flip the two, so that the plate is on the bottom and the skillet is upside down. Slowly lift the skillet and reattach any stray cranberries/errant caramel to the top of the cake.

Serve warm.  

Source: A cranberry riff on this pineapple upside-down cake over at Smitten Kitchen, which originally came from the February 2000 issue of Gourmet.