Towering Praline Carrot Cake With Candied Pecans Recipes

CARROT CAKE WITH PECAN CREAM FILLING AND CREAM CHEESE ICING

Steps:

• For Pecan Cream Filling: A day before you make the cake, blend the sugar, flour and salt in a heavy saucepan.
• Gradually stir in the cream.
• Add the butter.
• Cook and stir the mixture over low heat until the butter has melted; then let simmer 20 to 30 minutes until golden brown, stirring occasionally.
• Cool to lukewarm.
• Stir in the pecans and vanilla.
• Let the mixture cool completely.
• Refrigerate it overnight.
• If it is too thick to spread, bring it to room temperature before using.
• For Carrot Cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the corn oil and the sugar.
• In another bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Sift half the dry ingredients into the oil-sugar mixture, then blend well.
• Sift in the rest of the dry ingredients while adding the eggs, one at a time.
• Mix well.
• Add the carrots and pecans and mix again. (If you like raisins in your cake, feel free to throw some in now).
• Pour the batter into the prepared tube pan.
• Bake for 70 minutes, or until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.
• Cool upright, in the pan, on a rack.
• While the cake is baking, prepare the icing.
• Icing: Cream together the butter and cream cheese until well blended and fluffy.
• Sift in the confectioners' sugar.
• Cream again. Then beat in the vanilla and the salt. If the icing is too soft to spread, chill it for a few minutes.
• Refrigerate it if you don't plan to use it right away, but bring it back to room temperature before using.
• Assembly: Run knife around inside of pan to loosen cake.
• Invert onto serving plate.
• With a long serrated knife, carefully split the cake into 3 horizontal layers.
• Spread the filling between the layers. (You may not need it all).
• Frost the top and sides of the cake with the icing.

TOWERING PRALINE CARROT CAKE

Steps:

• Grease and lightly flour three 9 x 1 1/2-inch round baking pans; set aside.
• In a covered medium saucepan cook carrots in a moderate amount of boiling water about 20 minutes or until very tender; drain.
• Cool carrots slightly. Coarsely mash with a potato masher.
• In a very large bowl stir together flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Make a well in center of flour mixture. Add vegetable oil, eggs, pineapple and vanilla extract. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until all ingredients are combined. Fold in mashed carrots, pecans and coconut.
• Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.
• Bake in a preheated 350 degree F. oven 35 - 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean.
• Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool completely on racks. While layers are cooling, prepare cream cheese frosting.
• Cream Cheese Frosting:.
• Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add cream cheese and vanilla extract; beat until fluffy. Stir in chopped pecans.
• Use pecan halves for garnish if desired.
• Praline Sauce:.
• In small saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and whipping cream. Bring to full boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat.
• Boil gently 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in vanilla extract. Cool.
• To Assemble: Place one cake layer, top side up, on a cake plate. Using about 1 cup of the frosting, pipe or spoon a rim about 1 inch wide and 1/2 inch high around outer edge of layer.
• Spoon about 2 tablespoons frosting into center, leaving an unfrosted ring. Spread about half of the praline sauce into the unfrosted ring. Sauce will not fill ring.
• Add second cake, top side up. Repeat frosting and filling steps using another 1 cup of the frosting and remaining praline sauce.
• Add third cake layer, top side up. Frost top and side with remaining frosting. If desired, garnish with additional chopped pecans.
• Cover. Store in refrigerator.
• Let refrigerated cake stand, covered, at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Or thaw frozen cake, covered, in refrigerator overnight. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

CANDIED PECANS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Lightly grease an 8x8x2-inch baking pan.
• In a small bowl combine brown sugar and orange juice. Add pecan halves, stirring to coat.
• Spread in prepared pan. Bake for 12 minutes or until nuts are browned and syrup is bubbly, stirring once.
• Pour out onto second lightly greased baking sheet, spearatinginto single nuts. Cool on wire rack. Use as topping for Towering Praline Carrot Cake with Candied Pecans.

TOWERING PRALINE CARROT CAKE WITH CANDIED PECANS

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan cook carrots, covered, in a moderate amount of boiling water about 20 minutes or until vert tender. Drain. Cool slightly. Chop in a food processor using several on-off turns, or coarsely mash with potato msher (should have about 1 1/2 cups).
• Grease and lightly flour three 9x1 1/2-inch round cake pans; set aside. (If you only have two pans, prepare two layers and refrigerate remaining third of batter. When the first two are done baking and removed from pans, wash, grease, and lightly flour one pan; bake the remaining batter.)
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In a large mixing bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Make a well in center of dry ingredients.
• Add oil, eggs, pineapple, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed about 1 minute until all ingredients are combined. Fold in mashed carrots, the 1 cup pecans, and the coconut. Spread batter evenly into prepared pans.
• Bake the layers for 35 to 40 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Using a small spatula or table knife loosen edges and remove from pans. Bake remaining layer, if necessary. Cool cakes thoroughly on wire racks.
• While the cake is cooling, prepare Praline Sauce, Candied Pecans, and Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting.
• To assemble, place one of the cooled cake layers, top side up, on cake plate. Use about 1 cup of the Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting to pipe or spoon a rim about 1-inch wide and 1/2-inch high around outer edge of cake layer. Spoon about 2 tablespoons fromsting in the center leaving an unfrostined "ring".
• Spoon and spread about half of the Praline Sauce filling into the unfrosted ring (sauce will not fill ring).
• Add a second cake layer, top side up, and repeat frosting and filling steps using Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting and Praline Sauce.
• Add final cake layer, top side up. Frost top and sides of alyers with remaining frosting.
• Garnish top with Candied Pecans. Store cake in the refrigerator.

CARROT CAKE WITH CRUSHED PINEAPPLE AND PECANS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 9-inch round or square cake pans.
• Sift flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl.
• Beat sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract together in another bowl until well blended. Add the dry ingredients gradually until well mixed. Fold in carrots, pineapple, coconut, and pecans. Divide batter evenly among the prepared cake pans.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes.