Carrot Cake

This is one of the best carrot cakes I've had. My sister made it for me for my birthday. It was delicious and super moist. It is impossible to stop eating once you start.

Ingredients

For the Cake

• unsalted butter and all-purpose flour for the pans
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1-3/4 cups sugar
• ¼ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup canola oil
• 2 cups freshly shredded carrots
• one 8-ounce can crushed pineapple in its own juice, well-drained

For the Frosting

• 16 ounce cream cheese
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• pinch of salt
• 3 cups confectioner's sugar
• 2 cups toasted, cooled, and chopped walnuts

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 9-inch cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment rounds, butter the paper and lightly sprinkle with flour. Tap out the excess flour and set pans aside. In a bowl, sift together (a fine mesh strainer is fine) the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and salt and set aside. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the eggs and the sugars and beat on medium-high until slightly thick and pale in color, about 2 minutes. Beat in the vanilla. With the mixer on low, slowly add the oil in a thin stream and mix until combined. With the mixer still on low, add in the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Add in the carrots and pineapple and mix until just combined.
2. Evenly divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake until the tops are golden and a cake tester comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans on wire racks for 10 minutes before turning out onto the racks to cool completely.
3. Make the frosting: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth, occasionally scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula. Beat in the vanilla and salt. With the mixer on medium, gradually add in the confectioner’s sugar and mix until frosting is smooth.
4. Place one cake layer on a cake stand or plate. Spread a thick layer of the frosting evenly over the cake. Top with the second cake layer. Spread the remaining frosting evenly over the sides and top of the cake. Sprinkle the walnuts over the top of the cake.

Alaina's Apple Pie

This is my favorite Apple Pie Recipe,

thanks to my roommate Alaina and Betty Crocker.

I really don't like how apple's are always mushy in apple pie. This recipe is great because it seems so much more fresh. Even though it isn't apple pie season really, this is one of my favorite pies. We always  make it with our friends apples from his orchard, but Granny Smith are a great option if you don't have local apples from a farmers market.

This picture is before the apple pie was baked. It will look a little more browned.

Pie Filling Ingredients

6 medium apples sliced

2 Tbs flour

3/4 sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

Mix

Pie Crust Ingredients

2 cups flour

2/3 cup butter

5-7 Tbs cold water

To make the pie crust you mix the ingredients and split it into two balls. Roll them separately: one is for the top crust and one is for the bottom.

Put pie filling in the bottom crust and place 3-4 small gobs of butter. Then cover with top crust and connect the two crusts.

Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes

Depending on the oven (if it is a hotter one) it might be useful to cover with aluminum foil for the first 30 minutes and then uncover to brown the crust.