Cookbook #57 Silver Palate Cookbook

One mother, and a birthday cake required.  Being the only daughter who lives in town, somewhere along the line, it was just assumed that I was the cake person.  No worries...a million cookbooks and very few opportunities to make cake.  I have been in need of a reason to bake a cake.

Since this was a family cake, there could be no tricks.  Broccoli or spinach would be rejected, beets would have been immediately identified and I would have been cast out of the party.  But as it turns out, I'm pretty sure carrots are veggies, and carrot cake would be well received.  Ignore the amounts of sugar and oil this recipe calls for.

Silver Palate Cookbook doesn't really need an introduction.  A cookbook doesn't get to celebrate twenty five years in print without being a winner.  I actually had an older version, well used, well loved and definitely beat up.  When this new version came out, I waivered.  Well loved cookbook has sentimental value, but this version had photos.  Food photography eventually won out over sentimentalism.  The recipes are easy to follow,  and while the cookbook is known for introducing the home cook to more gourmet cuisine at the time, the ingredients are pretty mainstream and easy to find for today's cook.  It's definitely a keeper.

This carrot cake called for cooked and pureed carrots which I'd never done for a carrot cake.  I reduced by a bit and threw in some grated carrots for good measure.  What's a carrot cake without visible carrots?

It was also a busy cake...lots and lots of stuff in this cake....carrots, pineapple, coconut, walnuts.  I thought to ask my mom which of the add-ins she wanted and made it per her specs.  Too bad I forgot to take it over to her house for her birthday dinner.  My coworkers got this birthday cake. 

Dear Mom, the above photo is of your birthday cake.  Hope you enjoy the photo.  Happy Birthday, loves and kisses.  Mary.

Silver Palate Carrot Cake

Ingredients
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups oil
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups shelled walnuts, chopped
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 cups pureed cooked carrots
3/4 cup drained crushed pineapple
Cream Cheese Frosting


Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease two 9-inch springform pans.
2. Sift flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and cinnamon into a bowl. Add oil, eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Fold in walnuts, coconut, carrots and pineapple.
3. Divide batter between prepared pans and smooth tops with a rubber spatula. Set on the middle rack of the oven and bake until edges have pulled away from sides and a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 50 minutes.
4. Cool 15 minutes, then remove sides of pans and place layers still on pan bottoms on cake racks to cool completely, 3 hours.
5. Gently remove layers from pan bottoms and use Cream Cheese Frosting to fill cake and frost the sides. Dust top of cake with confectioners' sugar. Serves 10 to 12.