Carrot and Zucchini Cake with Citrus Cream Cheese Frosting

For some reason, carrot cake screams Easter to me. It is a cake that I love but have never made. Since we hosted Easter dinner, and we needed a dessert, I tried my hand at a variety of carrot cake that I found on Pinterest via Real Mom Kitchen (adapted from Better Homes & Gardens). I wanted to have a cake, rather than bars like the original recipe called for, mostly because I wanted to use my new round cake stand that I won from Bake at 350 a few months ago, so I made it in a 9-inch round cake pan instead of a 9x13 rectangular pan. What a delicious after dinner treat! It wasn't too sweet, and I know it's not healthy, but it has carrot and zucchini in it, so I can pretend, right? And the frosting…delicious! I never would have thought that a little lemon zest would freshen up a cream cheese frosting like it did, but it was perfect!

For the Cake:
2 Eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup Packed Brown Sugar
1/2 cup Canola Oil
1/4 cup Honey
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 1/2 cups Carrot, shredded (I used about 6 smallish carrots)
1 cup Zucchini, shredded (I used 3/4 of a medium sized zucchini)
1/2 cup Chopped Walnuts
1 1/2 cup Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Ground Ginger
1/4 teaspoon Baking Soda

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, brown sugar, oil, honey, and vanilla. Any clumps of brown sugar will dissolve as you prepare the remaining ingredients, so don't worry too much about getting them all out. Fold in the carrots, zucchini, and walnuts. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, ginger, and baking soda; whisk to combine. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir until just combined. Spread the batter into an ungreased 9x13-inch baking pan, or a 9-inch round cake pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

For the Frosting:
1 (8-ounce) package Cream Cheese
1 cup Powdered Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon Lemon Zest (I used 1 lemon)

In a mixing bowl, beat all 3 ingredients with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Spread or pipe the frosting over the cooled bars/cake.

No Bake Chocolate Eclair Dessert

I have a pot-luck style dinner to go to tonight for an organization that I belong to. At our February meeting, I signed up to bring dessert, and while I had planned to make a chocolate chip cookie, oreo, and brownie bar, I wasn't completely sold on it. So I set out to search for a new recipe to try, keeping in mind that the majority of people at the dinner will be 60+ years old. I turned to Pinterest and found this recipe that comes from The Kitchen is My Playground.  While it was a bit tough to keep it's shape when I cut it into squares and tried to lift them out of the pan (the one photographed was a completely separate square, made in it's own container with a graham cracker and some extra filling), it tasted delicious. The chocolate topping was thin, but deliciously rich and fudgy in texture. This was just the kind of recipe I was looking for! Perfect with tea or coffee as an after dinner treat, not too sweet or heavy, with a little touch of chocolate.

For the Filling:
2 boxes (3.5 ounces each) Vanilla Instant Pudding
3 cups Milk
1 container (12 ounces) Cool Whip
Graham Crackers

Mix the pudding and milk in a bowl and beat. Stir in the cool whip. Place a layer of graham crackers in the bottom of a 9x13" dish. Spread half of the pudding mixture over the graham crackers. Repeat with another layer of graham crackers and pudding, then top with the final layer of graham crackers.

For the Chocolate Topping:
1/3 cup Cocoa
1 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Milk
1 stick Butter
1 teaspoon Vanilla

In a small saucepan, bring the cocoa, milk, and sugar to a boil. Boil for about 1 minute, stirring very frequently. Remove from heat and cool for one minute. Add the butter and vanilla; stir until the butter is melted. Pour the chocolate layer over the top layer of graham crackers. Refrigerate over night.

Vanilla Creme Brûlée for Two

Did you enjoy your Valentine's Day? We aren't much for celebrating it. Generally, we just use it as an excuse to make a "nicer than normal" dinner at home and call it a night. We can't be bothered by the reservations, crowds, gifts, and exorbitant prices! I started searching for a menu for the night, and new I wanted it to include dessert. I tried to think of a "fancy" dessert that we would order at a restaurant, and that is when I thought of creme brûlée. Since it's just the two of us, I turned to Dessert for Two, which is a pretty cool blog that scales dessert recipes down to small servings. Lo and behold, the perfect scaled-down creme brûlée recipe was at my fingertips. Except…me being me, I failed to read the whole recipe very carefully until about 4 hours before I had planned on serving it, so my custard did not sit in the fridge for the recommended 8 hours. But, I think it turned out just as delicious as at any restaurant! So if you are looking for an elegant dessert to serve your sweetie next Valentine's day, or any day for that matter, give this a try. You won't be disappointed!

3 Egg Yolks
1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
1/4 cup Sugar, plus 2 teaspoons
1 teaspoon Vanilla
Berries, for serving (optional--I added blackberries)

In a glass bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, cream, 1/4 cup sugar, and vanilla. Pour the mixture into 2 6-ounce ramekins. Place the ramekins in an 8- or 9- inch  glass baking dish. Make a water bath for them to cook in by pouring 2 cups of very hot water into the dish, or enough to come up about 1/2 of an inch on the sides of the ramekins. Bake at 300 degrees for 50-60 minutes. The custards are done when only the middle is slightly jiggly. Cool the custards in the water bath, then cover them with plastic wrap before moving them to the fridge for at least 8 hours (I only cooled for about 3 and they were fine). When ready to serve, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of sugar over each custard. Melt the sugar with a torch until it is browned and hard (I put them under our broiler and it worked perfectly). Serve immediately, garnished with berries, if desired.