Hmmm...I am getting an idea here. You know how German Chocolate cake has that kind of custardy type icing with nuts and coconut? Why not try something similar for carrot cake. Only instaed of coconut, you can use grated carrots. Or add some pineapple or raisins....
When I think of carrot cake, I immediatly think of cream cheese frosting. I don't think it has to be refridgerated, but it shouldn't sit in the heat either. I always make mine at thanksgiving and sit in a domed cake plate on the counter. (But it usually is eaten in a day, so I don't know how long it would last there.)
I used to use an actual cream cheese icing recipe. Now I just add 1 or 2 (depending on amount of icing) 8oz. bars of cream cheese to my buttercream icing and it taste sooooo good. It also tastes good if you add some pure lemon extract (lemon craem cheese). The lemon probably wouldn't be so great with the carrot cake, but it's always good to get new ideas for other things.HTH
Debsuewoo - Do you use the Apricot filling recipe on CC? It sounds a little complicated!
Thanks
Earlene's recipe with Orange flavoring is great.
Recipe for a 5 Qt. mixer:
5 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup + 2T Water
1 T Butavan (also known as buttervanilla, you can substitute 1 1/2 tsp clear vanilla and 1 1/2 tsp clear butter flavoring and omit 1 T of the water)
12 oz. room temperature cream cheese
1 1/4 lb. shortening (I use 3 of the crisco sticks and that works fine)
1 1/2 tsp. salt (sometimes I forget to put this in and it still tastes good)
1 1/2 tsp. Goodman's Orange flavoring
What I do is dump in the cream cheese and crisco sticks and mix them with the paddle on low until they are blended and creamy. Then, I dump in some (roughly half) of the powdered sugar and salt and mix (always on low to minimize bubbles. Then, I put the Butavan, Orange flavoring, and water (I don't worry about the temperature of the water) in a measuring cup and stir them together until there aren't any orange bits anymore. I then drizzle the water/flavoring mixture into the bowl as the icing is being mixed. I allow that to incorporate and then dump in the rest of the powdered sugar and mix until it is smooth with no lumps. I wait until all of the powdered sugar is incorporated (not necessarily lump-free) to add coloring. This recipe will fill the mixing bowl almost completely and will yeild a medium consistency icing.
The icing works well just after it is made, but I think I like it even better after it has sat in the fridge overnight and then is brought to room temperature again.
Oh, and there's a smaller recipe at earlenescakes.com if you need it.
biviana, for 3 cups, i'd probably just use one 8 oz. bar. You could always taste it after mixing and adjust to your preference. No, I don't alter my BC at all, I just add the cream cheese in after I've made my batch of BC and no it doesn't make it stiffer; depending on the humiity level and how warm(or soft) the cream cheese is, it may ,ake your BC a little softer.HTH
Carrot cake filling? NEVER use it..lol....I like my carrot cake the way it was born....unfilled and loaded with lemony cream cheese icing!
YUM!
( slobber!! )
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