One Little Sliver at a Time

Written By: Marlene Osteen | Issue: Winter - 2023

Julie Bollinger

She had long searched for the perfect recipe to satisfy her family’s hunger for carrot cake. For its long been the case that their favorite way to celebrate any birthday, holiday or random joyful moment is with carrot cake. 

Though cooking has many years been part of the family business – h  er brother Alan owned The Dry Sink for 28 years, and Julie and her sister Susie inherited it when he unexpectedly passed away – she didn’t have a go-to recipe.  She moved from recipe to recipe, hoping to strike gold with one but failing.

 “I was looking for more in my cake,” she said.  It needed to be sufficiently moist and carroty with varied crumb and texture. 

Now she thrilled to the combination of carrots and pineapple in a cake so delicious that the family eats the entire cake in one sitting. 

“It’s one of those cakes you keep cutting away at, a little sliver at time, until it’s all gone,” she confessed. 

Moist and luscious, sweet and spicy, its circumference smeared with a generous whoosh of scrumptious cream cheese frosting, the recipe was a revelation. 

So festive is the cake that she serves it annually at Thanksgiving in place of pumpkin pie.  And when the family gathers for Christmas dinner at the house she shares in Maine with her husband, their holiday lobster dinner will end with a celebratory slab of carrot cake.

Ingredients

For the Cake

2 cups sifted flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

4 large eggs

1 ½ cups vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

2 ¾ cups carrots, coarsely grated

1 8 oz can crushed pineapple (drained)

¾ cup chopped walnuts or pecans (Julie prefers pecans)

1 cup shredded sweetened coconut

For the Frosting

½ cup butter or margarine, at room temperature 

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Milk as needed

1 one-pound package confectioner’s sugar (you may not need it all)

Directions

For the Cake

1.  Make the cake layers: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

2.  Spread the pecans out on a small, rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the nuts are deep golden brown and fragrant. Remove from the oven (leave the oven on) and transfer the nuts to a plate to cool. Chop the nuts when cooled.

3.  While the nuts are toasting, grease and flour 3 round cake pans, or 9 x 12 sheet pan with edges

4.  In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon until combined. 

5.  In a medium bowl beat the eggs with the granulated sugar.  When the mixture is frothy, slowly add the oil in a thin stream and beat until the mixture is glossy,

6.  Gradually add the flour mixture to the eggs, a little at a time, beating until the last whisper of flour disappears. 

7.  Add carrots and mix until combined.

8.  Using a spatula gently fold in the pineapple, nuts and coconut

9.  Evenly divide the batter between the cake pans. If needed, smooth out the tops of the cakes with a small offset spatula.

10. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the cakes comes out clean, and the cakes spring back when lightly pressed on top and start to pull away from the sides of the pan. Transfer the cake pans to a wire rack and let cool completely. (the cake will keep in the refrigerator for at least a week)

For the Frosting

1.  Using an electric mixer, whip the butter and cream cheese together until light and fluffy

2.  Beat in half the sugar and vanilla, and taste.  Continue adding sugar until the desired sweetness is achieved.

3.  If the frosting seems too thick to spread, add a little milk.

4.  Spread the frosting over the cooled cake and serve. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 3 days.

by Marlene Osteen