Blue Ribbon Carrot Cake


2 C flour                         2t vanilla
2 t b-soda                       8 oz crushed drained pineapple
2 t cinnamon                   2C grated carrots
1/2 t salt                        3 1/2 oz shredded coconut
3 eggs                            4 oz (1C) pecans or walnuts (preference)
3/4 C vegetable oil           3/4 C buttermilk
2C sugar

                                               Buttermilk glaze

1 C butter                         1 cube butter
1/2 t baking soda              1 t corn syrup
1/2 C buttermilk                1 t vanilla


                                           Cream cheese frosting

1 cube butter room temp               2 C powdered sugar
8 oz cream cheese room temp        1 t orange juice
1 t vanilla                                     1 t grated orange peel



Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Generously grease a 13”X9” or two 9” pan(s); set aside.  Sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together; set aside. In a large bowl, beat eggs.  Add oil, buttermilk, sugar and vanilla; mix well.  Add flour mixture, pineapple, carrots, coconut and nuts.  Stir well.  Pour into pan(s). Bake 55 minutes or until pick inserted in center comes out clean.  While cake is baking, prepare Buttermilk Glaze.  Remove cake from oven and slowly pour glaze over hot cake.  Cool cake in pan until glaze is totally absorbed, about 15 minutes.  Turn out of pan, if desired.   Cool completely.  May be frozen and/or refrigerated for several days.                                                                                                        Frost, refrigerate till frosting is set.  Serve chilled.

                                                         Buttermilk glaze

In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, soda, buttermilk, butter and corn syrup.  Bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes, stir occasionally. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla.


                                                        Cream cheese frosting

Cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy.  Add vanilla, powdered sugar, orange juice and orange peel.  Mix until smooth


It was my good fortune that my wife attended a cooking class with a very good pastry chef many years ago and she gleaned this recipe from him.   I get it about once a year because it is rather labor intensive.   But worth it.

I'll snip this out and surprise Marcia with one.  It's her favorite.

Thanks.

Must be super moist

I am pretty narrow in my scope of recipe knowledge, but you are only the 2nd person besides my self I have ever seen with pineapple in their recipe...

It's part of what makes it so tasty and moist, that and the Buttermilk glaze.

I was gathering the components and gathering my thoughts on making this—

What's meant by the frosting instruction, "Cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy."  Does it mean, Beat or whip butter and cream cheese until fluffy?

I was gathering the components and gathering my thoughts on making this—

What's meant by the frosting instruction, "Cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy."  Does it mean, Beat or whip butter and cream cheese until fluffy?

SWMBO isn't here at the moment but will get some clearer instructions ASAP

I was always taught that if you were creaming butter, etc it meant that you were beating it with either a Kitchen Aid or egg beater.

I was gathering the components and gathering my thoughts on making this—

What's meant by the frosting instruction, "Cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy."  Does it mean, Beat or whip butter and cream cheese until fluffy?

Checked and she said she uses either her Kitchenaid stand mixer of her hand held mixer to whip all the lumps out of the room temperature mixture.  Hope this helps.

I will have to try this one.  I love me some carrot cake.   

I was gathering the components and gathering my thoughts on making this—

What's meant by the frosting instruction, "Cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy."  Does it mean, Beat or whip butter and cream cheese until fluffy?

Checked and she said she uses either her Kitchenaid stand mixer of her hand held mixer to whip all the lumps out of the room temperature mixture.  Hope this helps.

Yep, it helps.  Thanks.

So, creamed and whipped/beat are synonyms.  That makes sense.  I got creamed in a hockey game more than once.

"So, creamed and whipped/beat are synonyms.  That makes sense.  I got creamed in a hockey game more than once"  I can relate, but mine was football.