Sunday, February 15, 2015

My 40+ year old carrot cake recipe~And Paddington~And Marie's tarts~











My 40 + year old carrot cake recipe...
Has ended up..wearing so many party dresses..
Birthdays..Christenings..Easter..Birthdays..Weddings..
Valentine's Day..
And combined Valentines'/ Birthdays~
Yesterday...on the 14th..we celebrated Valentine's Day and our youngest daughter's birthday combined..
I volunteered dessert..s.....
I picked carrot cake ..because it had been so long since the last one was enjoyed..

The children ..hearing carrot cake..would turn away I feared..as I had as a teen..
But you just have to have one bite..and you are hooked ..In fact..the icing is so good..my husband scraped away the buttercream on the sponge cake and replaced it w/ the cream cheese icing:)
It's not easy on a sun filled day to take a white icing..beigeish actually ..iced cake photo..
I seem to be always complaining in winter about the light..too dark..too grey//too sunny..too bright..for photos..
But I did want to show you that you can dress this carrot cake up to suit any occasion..

I put roses on top..and plain around..simply because I doubled the icing..yet had only enough for what you see.
I would have liked to go around the sides w/ roses..but my cream cheese frosting is not thick like buttercream..
So ..it was ok..that I did not have enough icing  to go around..

For the 6 "littles"  well 4 "littles"  and  2 bigger kids..
I made Paddington cupcakes..



As per an agreement w/ Living Locurto..just go to her site here  ..for the how tos:)

Terry made some also..we were both inspired for our "littles"..

I  actually used a Duncan Hines mix for the cupcakes and Betty Crocker for the icing..
So truthfully Duncan and Betty were a huge help.
I must admit I am useless w/ mixes..and am surprised I finally got them done..
In the bloopers were some underdone cupcakes..and some burst icing bags..
However ..finally..all was well~
And thank you Living Locurto for such a cute cute idea.
I also kind of  stole..borrowed..
the word Littles..my girls had Littles as wee girls.. but I had not heard that expression in ages..until I read..We Were Liars~
And it stuck with me..enough to borrow it..in speaking..writing about the wee..er folk in our family..

As for those delightful little tarts..Marie made hers in a patty pan..I don't have one..it seems it is more of a British baking pan..I did have a muffin top( not unllike how I felt last night..) pan..

And made her tarts in there..I halved the recipe and it made 4 large ones..all the other desserts were going to stay at the hosts..so I thought I would make Jacques these.
Now..I Love them..more than cakes.. and cupcakes..Not too sweet..almond..raspberry jam..and Ricardo's shortcust pastry..
I used the sour cream addition.
The only difference to Marie's recipe I made was to add almond extract to the mixture .

Little Noah..had a wonderful Valentines..Through the house..his mom had placed clues regarding hi gift..there were many card like these..


This one says Cocou Noah..Happy Valentine's Day.I have a surprise for you..


We will leave in an airplane..

etc .. etc..


In 15 dodos..

She kept asking him to guess and finally he said:"Are we going to China?:)LOL..Don't know where that came from..So spring bread the French teacher and her Noah..will be electrifying Disney♥

We all had a great time..Alain is a musician as a hobby apart from others..and with his daughter they form a fabulous team..the living room was again set up as a music room w/ amps and mikes and guitars..So so fun to hear and watch..Lucas and Max are trying their hand at it too..so so cute,,I spiked their hair..Noah sang baby of Mine..All night..a live show:)  


La Recette for the carrot cake~

2 cups of flour
2tbsps baking powder
11/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
add 1 cup light oil,2 cups of sugar..
4 eggs,1 can drained crushed pineapple,2 cups grated carrots 1 cup of raisins(you can plump them if you wish). 1 cup chopped nuts..(walnuts)
Pour batter into 2 8" round molds..Bake at 375 for 10-15 mins
350 for 35-40 minutes.

Let cool..unmold and ice w/ your favorite cream cheese frosting~

If I go to bed after midnight..it's either a wedding or a party at my kids homes:)
And nothing magical happens to my car.
It is a real challenge leaving when it's so dark and so cold:)







60 comments:

  1. Monique, your world is so sweet. The grand babies and family time, and the tarts look delicious. The icing roses are gorgeous and I am going to try your carrot cake. I am forever searching for one that is moist.

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    1. This one is:)
      Yesterday I emailed one of my daughters before the party to tell her about your new baby's name:)
      Penny Lane♥

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  2. Wow you were a busy bee! I just made the paddington Bears for dessert and everyone got those. As you know I had problems too with the icing and the pastry bag. It was coming out the tip and the top of the bag. The carrot cake sounds great. I love carrot cake with a good cream cheese frosting. Maybe I'll do that for easter. Sounds like you had a wonderful time with the family. Well worth staying up late.

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    1. :)

      It was fun having you do the bears first..I should have known the icing I picked was too thick..then I softened it and it poured out..The kitchen was a MESS.
      Yes forgot to say chop the nuts:) You can even leave them out..sometimes I enjoy coconut in a carrot cake ..and zest of lime in the icing w/ maple syrup:)

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  3. Oh Monique ... I can't tell you how I look forward to your posts. You are so delightful, entertaining and talented. Je t'aime!!!
    diane @ thoughts & shots

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  4. Oh my goodness, I love the way the Lord works things out. I invited two couples over for dinner on Friday and it's one of the lady's birthday and she says she loves Carrot Cake!! How cool is that?!! and guess which recipe I'm using?! Yup, you guessed it, yours!! :) I have a question, what exactly is light oil? You must make all events at your house so fun and festive. You drive safely going home in the dark! Have a great week :) -Bev

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    1. Hi Bev..like a canola oil..not olive oil..and chop the nuts..if you don't like nuts you do not need to add them..Do the toothpick test.
      It is tried and true..How nice you are having friends over..
      You too have a great week!

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  5. I would do the same and scrape the cream cheese frosting! What beautiful pastries, cakes and cupcakes. It must always be a bakery shop at your house.
    What fun clues - China huh?!! How adorable.
    Sounds like a wonderful time at your house!

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    1. Every time I have seen your Disney pics..(I know it's a different one..)I have been reminded of our trip with the girls..Now it is Noah's turn:)
      It is so nice when we are all together..
      Like you..but different..:)

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  6. What a wonderful Valentines Celebration you have had! Your cake looks just gorgeous, bad lighting or not! Your photos are always gorgeous. I hope that J enjoyed his tarts. I must make that cake. It sounds positively wonderful, and I am smiling at the thought of the boys and their music, the card clues, the Valentine Surprise. It's all just wonderful! xoxo

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    1. Marie..you could market those tarts♥
      Your recipes are always just perfect.
      Thank you.

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  7. So funny, I have almost the exact same carrot cake recipe and I found it about 35 years ago! Yours is much prettier though than mine has ever dreamed of being!

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    1. So many new variations..I think the pineapple and cinnamon make it:)Many carrot cakes are dry..Not this one n'est-ce-pas?
      It put a dress on because it was a party..and you showed me how to do those roses:)

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  8. Sounds like you have the perfect Valentines's Day weekend Monique with lots of music and smiles all around. The Paddington Bear cookies must have been a real hit with the kids. I'm ashamed to say I've never tasted carrot cake, if you can believe that. I would love to try yours some day. Have a lovely week ahead.
    Sam

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  9. Your photos are always so pretty, Monique. Love those tarts and many thanks for the carrot cake recipe. Haven't made one in ages. Your Paddington cupcakes are so cute! Lucky kids. Sounds like you had a lovely combination celebration for Valentine's Day!

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    1. Thanks Barbara..I think you would like the tarts.. half the recipe makes 4 4 inchers..not too many :)

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  10. I've been checking out carrot cake recipes... had not been satisfied with any I'd seen. Must have been waiting for yours. Seems it has a proven track record!! Thank you. Happy Belated Birthday to Noah! Such a fun celebration!

    We enjoyed Disney about this time last year with our grandsons. What memories! Have a wonderful week, Monique. blessings ~ tanna
    ps thanks again for the carrot cake recipe AND the tarts. ;)

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    1. I hope this one proves to be the one:) You can plump the raisins too if you want them moister..
      You are welcome:)

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  11. Firstly Thank you for turning me on to WE WERE LIARS. A completely addictive read.
    Love your Paddingtons!!!
    Such a fun post Monique

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    1. You can guess who I was thinking about making the bears..you and Noah..and Terry .:)

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  12. Oh, Nana - you make everything so festive! Carrot cake is our favorite as well, except my lactose-intolerant son can no longer eat the icing (more for ME)! We are digging out from another foot or so of snow, which is, I think the fifth storm we've had in a month. I'm raising the white flag in surrender.

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    1. Has this not been an unbelievable winter?
      For us a steady snowfall..but bitter temps..and youALL that snow..out east here..and Boston ..oh lala..we will have earned our Spring and Summer..
      The icing is good:)

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  13. I'm tickled pink to have your carrot cake recipe, Monique. That is one of my favorite cakes. My little great grandson has a Valentine's Day birthday too, but he lives many miles away so we could only celebrate in spirit. I've always thought it was the perfect day for a birthday. And those little almond tarts...don't know whether to make them or the cake first. We are enjoying the warmest February on record (thus far anyway) and all sorts of things are starting to pop up out of the dirt and are forming buds.

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    1. Oh my gosh Cathy ..Jacques just went out to shovel ..he came in and said..it has been a long time since I have seen cold like this.
      Isn't it euphoric to see things popping out of the ground?
      I can just picture your home:)
      Thank you..hope you enjoy both recipes:)

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  14. What an ambitious baker you are, and everything looks sumptuous. Those tarts, oh, my! And you did Paddington proud with the cupcakes. I am a carrot cake fan, myself, and this post has encouraged me to make one. I think it's probably been a decade since my last (why is that, I wonder?) so I am overdue. Did I spot the result of a new cookie stamp in the tart photo?

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  15. I know you will like the tarts....love the tarts..carrot cakes are like that..we go long spurts w/out..then at easter we think..ah ha!

    It is a new stamp..Ricardo set..bilingual:) One side English..one side French..
    I like them..Quality:)

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  16. Que buenas y bonitas recetas. Me encantan.
    Besos

    lagalletarota.blogspot.com

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  17. I never start pinning until I've read the whole post, because I have such a hard time choosing which gorgeous photo I want to use!

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  18. I want the Paddingtons. I haven't had carrot cake in a zillion years. Love the idea of the pineapple. Your family are so lucky to have you to make magic for them. Very lucky indeed!!

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    1. Deana..they are actually the ones that create magic for me.Thank you:)

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  19. I don't remember when is a last time I had a very good carrot cake, must be the ages-)) I will try yours. Maybe even tomorrow, the snow storm is coming, so I will bake-))

    Hugs,

    Yelena

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    1. Tomorrow night we will have snow..it's the cold this year that is so bitter..
      It is a cake we only make seldomly..you are right..and a cake is too big for Jacques and I..perfect family cake or get together cake..Easter:)

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  20. What a fun post. Carrot cake was the first cake I ever made so many years ago. Loved it then and love it now.

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  21. Carrot cake and red velvet cake are two of my favorites. I admire your hand at decorating your sweets and those tarts are lovely. We had a cold Valentines Day in NC. Made me appreciate the weather here in Florida. Hope you thaw out soon.

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  22. All looks most delicious....
    And...
    Photographed beautifully...
    Stay warm!
    Cheers!
    Linda :o)

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  23. It all looks wonderful! The bears are precious!
    My kids are in Canada skiing, Mt. Treblont. Freezing, but it is here too. They didn't need to go to Canada for snow, we are inundated with it!

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  24. So close to me..about 2 hrs away..pretty place...what fun for them!

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  25. Sounds like you had a great Valentine's Day celebration, Monique! Carrot cake is my absolute favorite cake and I bet yours is delicious! This is a must try! I'd scrape the icing too! And the cupcakes are adorable, perfect for the kids! You are one creative lady!

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  26. What a wonderful post. We love carrot cake and you made a very fancy one. Love the roses! Your cute little Paddington's are adorable. Almost too cute to eat! Love that tarts too. You have been quite busy yourself.

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  27. You make such wonderful cakes. I have never attempted decorative icing like this. And I know what you mean about winter sunlight. The other day I felt it was too blue, with all the snow outside the windows.

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    1. Sarah..the only thing I can do is ,the rose pattern really and it's the Wilton 2D tip that does all the work:) Try it..small investment for pretty roses..and a bag:) I can only do what the tips do..no talent at all in cake decorating..Our Michael's offers classes..but I don't make enough cakes..

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  28. Hi Monique, you make each holiday and birthday so special, your family is so lucky!! Love carrot cake!

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    1. It's the Littles..that motivate me I think for the cupcakes..well I know so..!

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  29. aw Monique I love these Marie's tartas look amazing! and love carrot cake!
    You know I love her recpes!!
    Me encantan tus posts Monique, oui,oui!!

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  30. Carrot cake AND Paddington - all my favorites in one post!
    This is my first visit to your blog, a perfect start :-)
    Amalia
    xo

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  31. oh my God those tarts!!! I NEED to try them!!!!

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