3 Layer Carrot Cake with a Buttermilk Glaze and Cream Cheese Frosting

A BIG Slice of Heaven

Zena is my friend's Grouprecipe name and a few of us at this site got on the bandwagon for trying Zena's carrot cake. I honestly never thought anyone could come close to beating my own 6-layer carrot cake but with the addition of the buttermilk glaze. . .well the cake is out of this world! The flavor and moistness is phenomenal! I can not get over the taste of the cake. The frosting is hard to keep out of, the glaze gets caramel in color and flavor, and the carrot cake itself is beautiful. The choices are open as to whether you like walnuts or pecans, with or without coconut, and you could even throw in a few raisins if you like. The frosting is creamy enough to throw swirls into and the addition of toasted, crushed pecans (or walnuts) sprinkled on top is just playtime for the cake. I took slices to work to share and everyone unanimously said this is the BEST carrot cake ever eaten. I want to try making my own carrot cake again with the glaze and frosting from this recipe and compare to see if I am beat in all categories. This is one time that I really don't mind losing =D.

Ingredients:
Cake:
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
3/4 cups canola oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated carrots
1 (3 1/2 oz) package flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Buttermilk Glaze:

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup butter milk
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting:
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
1 (3oz) pkg cream cheese, softened
3 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Cake:
Line three 9 inch round cake pans with wax paper; lightly grease and flour wax paper; set aside pans.
Stir together first 4 ingredients.
Beat eggs and next 4 ingredients at medium speed with a mixer until
smooth. Add flour mixture, beating at low speed until blended.
Fold in carrots and next 3 ingredients.
Pour batter into prepared cake pans.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until tooth pick comes clean out of center of cake

Buttermilk Glaze:
Bring first 5 ingredients to a boil in a large saucepan over medium high heat.
Boil, stirring often, 4 minutes.
Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla.
Drizzle glaze evenly over layers; cool in pans on wire racks 15
minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed with a mixer until creamy.
Add powdered sugar and vanilla; beat until smooth.
Spread frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake.
Can Garnish top of cake with extra pecans or walnuts.

Garden of Eden Pasta Sauce

I sooo miss my Grampa's vegetable garden! Going into the garden and testing the tomatoes for firmness and juiciness, looking for zucchini that is not to large, pulling up scallions that have perfect green tops, and walking over to the garden hose to freshly wash away the dark garden dirt. I started my own garden last year and loved it. I even grew corn and the flavor was so sweet and fresh with a great crunch. I could eat it straight from the garden without cooking it. The natural sugars in the corn amazed me. This year the weather has been so cold that any chance of baby plants making it would be slim to not at all. We had snow again about 2 weeks ago. The day before yesterday there was ice on my windshield of the car. In fact, one of my baby flowers died. It doesn't even feel like May yet. Hopefully that will change soon.

This pasta sauce is perfect for a hot weather, next to NO stove top cooking dish. The only ingredient that would get cooked is the pasta. That's it. The sauce does NOT get cooked. The salt sprinkled onto the chopped vegetables, herbs, and fresh mozzarella cheese softens and helps mingle the flavors. Getting the best fresh vegetables will make all the difference in flavor along with the basil leaves. I have pots of herbs on my deck that I can go out and snip. I just love that =). I think this fresh and chunky sauce matches really well with short pastas like penne, farfalle, and campanelle. This is enough sauce for 1 pound of pasta and the flavor comes down to marinating for 1 hour. Easy, colorful, healthy, and tasty.

Garden of Eden Pasta Sauce
Ingredients:

2 Large tomatoes, cored and chopped
1 yellow or orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
2 scallions, sliced thin
1/2 c. chopped fresh basil
1 t. salt
1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil
2 T. red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. dried oregano

Directions:
Combine tomatoes, bell pepper, cucumber, cheese, scallions, basil, and salt in large bowl. Whisk oil, vinegar, garlic, cumin, and oregano in small bowl. Pour oil mixture over tomato mixture and toss to coat. Cover and let stand at room temperature 1 hour.

Toss tomato mixture with cooked pasta and reserved pasta cooking water, if necessary. Serve.