Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

I am currently sitting in the mountains of the poconos in Pennsylvania. I'm on vacation visiting all of my camp friends and it has been off to a wonderful reunion. After coming back after a whole year it feels like hardly any time has passed, funny how that happens right?

I thought I'd share this post with you while I was here at camp because something really sweet happened.

One of my campers follows me on instagram and she said that she used my key lime pie recipe for a mother's day dessert. I couldn't believe it. Any food blogger knows that when you hear someone that actually used your recipe that you put your love and sweat into that it's really rewarding.

Especially from a 15 year old! So thank you Charlotte, you made my afternoon :)

Although this isn't key lime pie, this is carrot cake and it's delicious. But the real star is the maple cream cheese frosting. If you have never had maple cream cheese frosting I would highly suggest it. It's amazing on any kind of spice cake. Gingerbread is my next victim. 

Garnish the top a little silly and call it good. I put gold candles on it for a birthday cake and called in the 24 carrot gold cake ;) just for fun. 

Carrot Cake with

Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

for cake
2 1/2 Cups of cake flour
3 Teaspoons of cinnamon
2 Teaspoons of baking soda
1 Teaspoon of salt
2 Cups of granulated sugar
1 1/3 Cup of canola oil
3 Eggs
1 Teaspoon of vanilla extract
4 Carrots peeled and grated
1 Cup of raisins
1 Cup of walnuts

for frosting
8 Oz of cream cheese
1/2 Cup (1 stick) of softened butter
4 Tablespoons of pure maple syrup
1 1/2 Pounds of powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons of water for thinning if needed

adapted from Ina Garten

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. 

Trace two 9-inch cake tins onto parchment paper, cut out the tracings and set aside. Spray or butter your cake tins with non stick spray and sprinkle with flour. Place parchment paper cut outs on bottom of cake tins. Set aside. 

In a medium mixing bowl mix together dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt), set aside. 

In a large mixing bowl combine granulated sugar, canola oil, eggs, and vanilla extract until pale yellow. Slowly add in flour mixture in two segments. The batter will be very thick, don't over mix. Pour in grated carrots, raisins, walnuts and mix until just incorporated. Pour half of the batter into each 9-inch cake tin. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean. 

Cool for 30 minutes, run a knife around the edges and cool for an additional hour on a wire rack. 

In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese, butter, vanilla extract and maple syrup until light and fluffy. Add in powdered sugar in three segments pushing down the frosting on the sides of the bowl after each addition. If you live in a dry climate you might need to add in a few tablespoons of water to thin it out. This was a ton of frosting for this cake! You might not need this much! 

Enjoy!

Raspberry Lime Pie

Happy Easter from The Whisking Kitchen!

Hello Hello! I just wanted to wish everyone a very warm and Happy Easter holiday (if you celebrate that is!) Either way I hope you had a great Sunday spent in the presence of loved ones. I was fortunate enough to be at my Aunt and Uncle's home for a delicious ham dinner. I brought

raspberry lime pie

(recipe below!) and a carrot cake with maple cream cheese frosting.

 Full is an understatement ;)

My aunt had such a cute table scape set up. Everyone had a jumbo white peep on their plate and a chocolate creme cadbury egg in their holder (for what would have been) for a hard boiled egg. I thought it was a creative + great touch! I'm so big on the little things and the meticulous details. 

Raspberry Lime Pie for the pie filling

1/2 Cup of freshly squeezed lime juice (5-6 limes)
14 Ounces of canned condensed milk
3 Egg yolks
1 Teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
Raspberry preserves

for the crust
1 1/2 Cup of ground graham crackers (12 crackers)
5 Tablespoons of melted Butter
1 Teaspoon of cinnamon
2 Tablespoons of sugar
1/4 Teaspoon of salt

to make it gorgeous
1 Cup of heavy whipping cream
3 Tablespoons of sugar
1 Teaspoon of vanilla extract
Lime wedges + raspberries

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Pulse your graham crackers in a food processor, crush them in a plastic bag, or buy them pre ground in the baking isle of your grocery isle. Mix your ground graham crackers, melted butter, cinnamon, sugar and salt in a bowl until well combined. Press the mixture firmly and evenly into a nine inch pie pan. Bake in a 350 degree oven for ten minutes. 

In a large mixing bowl whisk together lime juice, condensed milk, egg yolks, and vanilla extract. Pour pie filling into graham cracker crust. 

Melt a 1/2 cup of raspberry preserves in the microwave in a glass measuring cup for about 30 seconds. (From a measuring cup) very carefully pour dime size amounts of melted preserves evenly distributed onto the pie mixture (about a half inch away from each other, you do not want them to touch!) Then with a knife drag through your raspberry drops to create a swirl effect with the preserves. 

Bake pie at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Let cool for 40-60 minutes and then transfer to the refrigerator for 2-4 hours or overnight before serving. 

In a large mixing bowl beat heavy whipping cream, sugar and vanilla for 4-5 minutes with a stand or hand mixer until whip cream is stiff. Transfer mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a small star tip. Line the pie border with star shapes and top with fresh raspberries + lime wedges. 

Enjoy! Pie is just the best.