December, Carrot Cake, Rent Cheques.

Well here we are, the last month of the year. All of you Americans having been stuffing yourselves stupid for the Thanksgiving holiday whilst here in Canada we have been bombarded by ads for Black Friday sales and now Cyber Monday ones. How can a sale denominated by a day last all week? I did take advantage at Amazon.ca though, bought 12 Years a Slave for $7. Not a bad price.

We indulged slightly on Saturday, eating a slice of my much touted carrot cake. Maybe I should have tried it in the restaurant first (if it was available) we were very disappointed. The cake part was excellent but I DO NOT buy a carrot cake for the cake. The frosting was very mediocre. Considering how good their mincemeat tarts are, I am very surprised. It looked so good too. I am toying with the idea of making some more frosting to put on it. Theirs was very bland and very uninteresting.

One thing I got round to doing was printing our 12 rent cheques. We have an old fashioned realtor company who don’t do business by direct deposit etc. so we have to write cheques. I have always done 12 at a time but got fed up with writing them by hand so a few years ago I ordered cheques for my programme (Quicken) which makes it a lot easier. I have had a bit of trouble over the years getting them to print quite right, but this year I was more successful. Considering I only do it once a year, I don’t get much practice. It’s not as easy as one might think. All my Christmas cards have been mailed with the exception of those for Canada so I am feeling pretty well organised right now.

Particularly for my Mexican dragon friend, who has apparently never heard of a carrot cake, I thought I would publish a recipe today. Maybe this is the frosting I will use. This is voted one of the best recipes ever apparently.
 

Canada's Best Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Our most popular recipe ever! This moist carrot cake is welcome at birthdays, weddings, reunions and all special occasions.

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen
Portion size18
 

Ingredients

• 2 cups 2cups(500 mL) (500 mL) all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp 2tsp(10 mL) (10 mL) baking powder
• 2 tsp 2tsp(10 mL) (10 mL) cinnamon
• 1 tsp 1tsp(5 mL) (5 mL) baking soda
• 3/4 tsp 3/4tsp(4 mL) (4 mL) salt
• 1/2 tsp 1/2tsp(2 mL) (2 mL) nutmeg
• 3/4 cup 3/4cup(175 mL) (175 mL) granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup 3/4cup(175 mL) (175 mL) packed brown sugar
• 3 3eggeggs
• 3/4 cup 3/4cup(175 mL) (175 mL) vegetable oil
• 1 tsp 1tsp(5 mL) (5 mL) vanilla
• 2 cups 2cups(500 mL) (500 mL) grated carrot
• 1 cup 1cup(250 mL) (250 mL) drained crushed canned pineapple
• 1/2 cup 1/2cup(125 mL) (125 mL) chopped pecans

Icing:

• 1 8 oz (250g) package 18 oz (250g) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup 1/4cup(60 mL) (60 mL) butter, softened
• 1/2 tsp 1/2tsp(2 mL) (2 mL) vanilla
• 1 cup 1cup(250 mL) (250 mL) icing sugar

 

Preparation

Grease and flour 13- x 9-inch (3.5 L) metal cake pan; set aside.
In large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. In separate bowl, beat together granulated and brown sugars, eggs, oil and vanilla until smooth; pour over flour mixture and stir just until moistened. Stir in carrots, pineapple and pecans. Spread in prepared pan.
Bake in centre of 350°F (180°C) oven for 40 minutes or until cake tester inserted in centre comes out clean. Let cool in pan on rack. (Make-ahead: Cover with plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 2 days. Or ovenwrap with heavy duty foil and freeze for up to 2 weeks; let thaw before continuing.)
Icing: In bowl, beat cream cheese with butter until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Beat in icing sugar, one-third at a time, until smooth. Spread over top of cake. (Make-ahead: Cover loosely and refrigerate for up to I day.)

Have a great day. As it’s actually still Sunday whilst writing, I am off to have my Sunday fizz.