A Special Carrot Cake for a Special Birthday Boy

Certified cutie Theo

Theo, cuteness personified son of neighbor friends in Karen, turned one year old last 30 January. So the day before, his mom Kim decided to bake the birthday boy a carrot cake during his and big sister Sophia's noontime nap. I said, let me come over and help you because once the kids wake up, baking will surely be an interrupted affair.

So we got out the recipe and lined up the mixing bowls, wooden spoons, rubber scrapers, measuring cups and spoons. We measured the ingredients, preheated the oven and generally got things going.

Grated carrots ready to go

As luck would have it, both cuties refused to settle down for their nap and demanded that mommy keep them company while waiting for dreamland to take over, leaving Aunty Marlene to gladly carry on with the baking. Kim had earlier grated the carrots already so I chopped half a cup of pecans (part of a care package that Kim had received and worth its weight in gold here in Kenya) and then set that aside along with the carrots.

I then combined flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. In another bowl, I beat the eggs, vanilla and light olive oil with a wooden spoon until smooth after which I slowly added the flour mixture in stages, making sure the batter remained smooth. Lastly, I then added the carrots and chopped pecans.

I poured the mixture into a loaf pan that Kim had earlier lined with wax paper and lightly dusted with flour, making sure I scraped off every bit of that delicious batter. After that, it was oven time. Too bad I couldn't stay around to wait while the cake baked for an hour.
 
But I had a chance to see the carrot cake the following day before and after Kim frosted it for Theo's birthday celebration.

Looking all moist beneath the cling wrap

Mommy love

 

And now, voilà, it's time to party! A very special carrot cake for a very special birthday boy...

Mommy Kim, Sophia and and birthday boy Theo with cake all lit up

"This is yummy, Aunty Marlene!"

"You want some cake, Sophia?"

"Can I have another slice, pretty pretty please?"

Below is the recipe we used. Since Nairobi, Kenya lies at almost 6,000 feet above sea level, we adjusted for high altitude baking, indicated in italics below.
 

One cup all-purpose flour (plus 2 tablespoons)

One cup sugar (less 4 tablespoons)

one teaspoon baking soda (reduce by ½ tsp)

one teaspoon baking powder (reduce by ½ tsp)

½ teaspoon salt

one teaspoon cinnamon

two large eggs (increase by one)

one teaspoon vanilla

¾ cup light olive oil (less 1/8 cup or 2 Tbsp)

one and a half cups tightly packed grated carrots

½ chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 325 deg F. Line bottom of a loaf pan with waxed paper (or grease and lightly dust with flour). For a bundt or 9 x 13 inch pan, double recipe and grease and flour pan.) Grease paper and sides of pan.

In a bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, then add vanilla and oil. Beat to blend with wooden spoon. Add flour mixture to egg mixture and beat until smooth. Stir in carrots and half cup pecans.

Bake for one hour in a 325-degree oven. After baking, let stand on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Loosen edges and turn out onto a wire rack. With another wire rack, turn cake right side up. Cool cake completely and then frost top and sides.

Ingredients for Cream Cheese Frosting

¼ cup butter

4 ounces cream cheese

1 tsp vanilla

1 and ¾ cups powdered sugar

Frosting: Beat butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until blended. Gradually beat in sugar until good spreading consistency. Half of amounts will be good for a lighter layer of icing.