Tonight was the ward fall social and dinner. I won first place for my chili. Woo-hoo! This was the first time in four or five years that I have been there in enough time to actually get my chili entered. Usually I am very late. The judges were the missionaries so they were easy to please. My chili wasn’t that great. But these 19 year old young men did not have discerning enough palates to appreciate my moist, yummy carrot cake that was made from whole wheat flour and free of evil white sugar, which I entered in the dessert category. It should have won first place. My visiting teacher’s Jello cake won. I am probably the only Utahn who doesn’t “do” Jello. It just doesn’t seem like real food. It is just slimy and cold and squishy. Ugh! (Sorry to offend you Jello-lovers.) I haven’t eaten it in over twenty years. I took the liberty of putting my first-place blue ribbon on my cake when I got home. I am going to make it again tomorrow for our extended family dinner and birthday party and put on whipped cream frosting that I learned how to make from my girlfriend and TOLM network member Tara. Yum, yum, yum!

Here is the recipe. I wish I could take credit for it. I got it from an old issue of A Real LIfe, which I used to subscribe to. I can’t believe I had never tried this recipe before. It is almost the perfect birthday cake. The only thing lacking is that it doesn’t come from soaked flour. Maybe Tara can figure that one out.

3 c whole wheat flour (use pastry flour if you can, but I didn’t and it still tasted great)
2 1/2 c Rapadura or sucanat
1 T cinnamon
1 T baking soda
1 t salt
1 c melted butter (actually A Real Life calls for canola oil, which I take issue with. Canola oil is not a real whole food!)
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 T vanilla
1 1/3 c pureed cooked carrots
1 c crushed pineapple
1 1/2 c chopped walnuts (I left these out, I am not a fan of nuts in cakes.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease your baking pan. I used a 9 x 13. Mix the dry ingredients. Then make a well and add the eggs, vanilla, and butter. Mix well. Then add the other stuff. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Be sure you don’t overbake.

Then use Tara’s frosting, reprinted below from her blog http://happyinthekitchen-withtara.blogspot.com/2009/09/soaked-dough-recipe.html. I took out the cocoa. I think for a carrot cake a hint of lemon juice in the frosting would be divine.

3 cups heavy cream (raw is best, don’t use ultra-pasteurized)
1/4 cup (or so) sucanat
1 tspn pure vanilla

Mix the cream with handheld beaters. When it starts to thicken a little
add the vanilla and a few tablespoons of the sucanat while you keep
beating. Taste this and keep adding sucanat until it tastes
right to you. Beat until it is thick, smooth, and creamy. Don’t OVER
beat it, it will become lumpy.

Enjoy!