Early Birthday = Maple Carrot Cake

 

So, I returned from my brief visit to Arizona to a pile of papers to correct and a slew of e-mails to respond to. Having caught up just enough to feel I could take the time to bake, I decided to bake a cake for a visit to Maine to see my brother, sister-in-law and mom on Sunday. My mom and brother have back-to-back birthdays during the week after Valentine's Day and although the plan was for me to just visit for lunch, everyone suspected I would bake something. So, I decided it would be a Maple Carrot Cake which is a recipe from "from the cook's garden" cookbook which I have adapted to my own tastes.

If you are looking for a not too sweet carrot cake recipe which only uses 1/2 cup of oil and is still tantalizingly moist, this is a great recipe to try. I typically increase the amount of grated carrots and almost always add some chopped crystallized ginger which is a nice surprise. The cake uses maple syrup(I use Grade B) as some of the sweetener and even the cream cheese frosting has maple syrup in it. I reduce the amount it calls for in the frosting because I do not want the maple flavor to be overpowering. This cake is very dependable, quite easy to make and has an open mind...it is always ready for a new addition or interpretation!

yours in baking-

p