A Stylish Twist

I love it when you can take something simple and traditional by putting a spin on it.  Just like in fashion, many people twist their own style so why not in baking.  I certainly think it can be done.

Since it's cold outside, my latest style twist is combining a simple wool sweater tunic and pairing it with printed tights - whether it's flowers, geometric shapes or an animal print. Pick what suits your personality! Look at some of your options below...

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So this is where my baking twist comes in.... I've been wanting to bake a carrot cake but didn't want to make one that has canned crushed pineapple or one that is loaded with nuts and raisins.  Just not my style, lol... After doing a load of laundry, I came up with a fabulous idea of using pickled carrots.  I know some of you may be thinking I'm crazy but hey we all thought wide leg flare jeans should be left in the 70's but now are the hottest thing on the runway. 

My boyfriend has his own specialty food company, Donovan's Cellar, and they have one of the most delicious pickled orange cumin carrots I've ever tasted! I've had them on banh min sandwiches, in green salads, and on a cheese plate.  So I decide why not put them in a cake!

I don't like raisins and nuts in my carrot cake so the one I made here doesn't have any.  But that doesn't mean you have to omit them as well.  Have fun with it and pick something that you love and enjoy.  Whether it's walnuts, macadamia nuts or dried fruit.  What I've learned with baking is that you always have to try.  You'll never know what flavor profile works unless you test it out.

My twist on this carrot cake is using four different exotic spices.  Ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom.  The combination of all these spices together give the cake an extra kick.  I used just a tiny bit of cardamom since a little goes a long way.  The cake had a great subtlety between all these spices, none of it over powered the other.  I love using butter in my baking however with this cake the recipe called for oil and buttermilk.  The result was a beautifully moist fluffy cake!  To top the cake off, I created an orange cream cheese frosting.  The pickled carrots had orange in the brine and I thought by creating an orange flavored frosting it could compliment the cake and bring out the flavors.  Lemme tell you not only did the frosting taste amazing by itself it was absolutely divine with the cake! And for aesthetic reasons because I wanted to make this cake look beautiful, I added toasted pecans to the outside rim.  It gives the cake a pretty texture and a nice crunch.

Are you ready to take on your own stylish twist? Bake this cake for your next holiday party and I'm sure you'll be the hit of the night!

Spiced Carrot Cake with Orange cream cheese frosting
adapted by Zoe Bakes

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cups of vegetable oil
3/4 cups of buttermilk
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups grated Donovan's Cellar Orange Cumin carrots 
1 cup nuts and fruits (optional) 

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two 8" round cake pans with wax paper.  Grease with oil and flour.  Set pans aside.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and the four spices.  Set aside.
Beat eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk and vanilla at medium speed in a stand mixer until smooth.  Add the flour mixture and beat on low until all combined.  Remove from stand mixer and add in grated carrots.  Fold it all in with a rubber spatula.  Pour batter into the two cake pans.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, use a paring knife to insert in center of cake and if clean cake is done.  Cool cakes in the pan on a wire rack.

Orange Cream cheese frosting
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter
Zest of one navel orange (yields about 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon of juice from the orange
1 tablespoon of pure vanilla extract
2 cups of confectioners sugar

Beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Add zest, juice and vanilla, beat until combined.  Add sugar one cup at a time until all combined and frosting is of medium consistency.