Encore!

en·core – (ahng-kawr) any repeated or additional performance or appearance

Your Two Chums have talked about bringing you some repeat presentations of things we have done in the past in what we will call Encore posts.  Since we do new posts Monday through Friday each week, Saturday seemed like the perfect time for this.  For those of you who may have joined our Two Chums family in more recent months it will give you a chance to see them for the first time, and for our old chums, it can be a fun reminder of an old favorite.

Carrot Cake is Jackie’s favorite and since tomorrow is her birthday this seemed the perfect time to begin with that as our first Encore post…HAPPY BIRTHDAY dear chum!  Please join me in celebrating her:-)

This was originally a part of a post on Greek Easter called It’s Greek To Me that had a lot of fun recipes in it.  You might want to check those out as well by clicking on the highlighted title.  But today we are featuring just the Carrot Cake recipe from that post. Though this one was made in the shape of a lamb for Easter you can use any pan you prefer. Make this a sheet cake by using a 9 x 13 pan or use two 9 inch rounds and make it a traditional layer cake.  No matter what the shape it is delicious….enjoy!

There is nothing truly Greek about carrot cake but anything with a lamb just screams Easter and who could resist this adorable and delicious confection! And besides, my daughter Amanda, (who is married to the Peter, the Greek man), made this cake, so it is a little bit Greek I guess 🙂 This little lamb happens to be a carrot cake, but you could use any cake recipe you like.

Carrot Cake (from Lee Bailey’s Country Desserts)
2 cups sifted flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
4 cups finely grated carrots
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour Wilton’s Stand Up Lamb Pan Set.

Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and allspice. Set aside.

Beat together oil and sugar until sugar is dissolved and mixture is smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add the dry ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk. Beat well.

Fold in carrots and nuts, combining well. Then pour into prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Cream Cheese Icing
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
approximately 1/4 cup cream

Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar and vanilla and slightly less than 1/4 cup cream. Beat until very smooth. Add more cream if icing is too stiff. It should be firm but soft enough to pass through a piping bag to make “curls” on the lamb. Follow instructions for decorating on Wilton’s Stand Up Lamb Pan Set.