It’s been awhile—four years in fact—since I last shared a blog post on December 2014. As I developed a passion for cooking growing up, I created a blog in high school to share my food adventures online. I had hoped to continue the blog (which can be found via the following link: www.cinnamonandcilantro.blogspot.com) throughout college and beyond, but living in the real world over the last three years, I’ve completely neglected it (turns out blogging is not a priority for a 20-something year old living in New York City just trying to avoid creating a mess at her first real job). However, as we turn over to a new year, I decided it’s time to restart blogging, and hence, Cinnamon & Cilantro 2.0 was born.

I am not a natural writer, though I do take deep satisfaction in finishing a piece, so here will be my attempt at enjoying writing. There is no better subject to write about than one of my all-time favorites—food. After all, I am thinking about some element of food almost always (serious). Surely, getting some of those thoughts down can’t be that hard? My hope also is that this blog will provide a creative outlet for me to indulge in with all my senses engaged.I never need an excuse to bake, but for me, a birthday does not provide just an excuse, it provides an obligation. My sister, who is 10 years younger than me, requested a carrot cake for her birthday. It’s not the most common birthday cake request, but I was more than happy to oblige as carrot cake is one of my favorite cakes of all time (accentuated by my love for cream cheese frosting). Carrot cake has about as much vegetable as you could possibly stuff into a cake—this recipe calls for 3 cups of grated carrots. I’d say a slice of this cake can count as a serving of vegetables (or at least half).In the last year, I attended a Milk Bar cake class. My biggest takeaway from the class was how to create layer cakes with a sheet pan and a cake ring. I have always found circle cake pans to result in cakes with higher centers, but with the sheet pan, the cake cooks much more evenly. I have incorporated this method into my carrot cake recipe—the result is a tiered cake showcasing all the beautiful inside layers.

Prep time: 1 hour
Cook time: 30 minutes
Servings: 10 slices

INGREDIENTS

Carrot cake

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups grated peeled carrots (~5 medium carrots)
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (or pecans if preferred)

Cream cheese frosting

• 8 ounces Neufchâtel cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened to room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a quarter sheet pan.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and the cinnamon until well blended.
3. In a separate large bowl, whisk the oil, sugars, and vanilla. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, until combined.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 parts, gently stirring until the batter is smooth. Stir in the carrots then fold in the walnuts. Pour into the prepared pan.
5. Bake for 30 minutes or until the tops of the cake layers are springy when touched and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
6. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
7. To make the cream cheese frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl with a handheld mixer on medium speed until smooth (about 1 minute). Stir in the vanilla extract. Beat in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time until fluffy. Chill covered until ready to frost cake.
8. To arrange the cake, use a 6-inch cake ring to stamp out 2 circles from the cake (opposite corners). These will be your top 2 cake layers. Next, stamp out a half circle beside each full circle cake. These two halves will come together to make the bottom layer of the cake.
9. On a flat surface, put the two cake halves together to create a full circle. You may need some additional cake scraps to fill in the center (keep it all together with some frosting).
10. Spread 1/3 of the cream cheese frosting on top of the first layer. Sprinkle with walnuts if desired. Carefully place the second layer on top and continue frosting. Place the final layer on top and frost with remaining frosting. Decorate with remaining walnuts