The Velvet Carrot

In my grand tradition of concocting compound cakes for summer cookouts (see here for the Brownie Cheesecake Cake Cake), I created the "Velvet Carrot." This is fairly simple, 1 layer of carrot cake and 1 layer of red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. I made everything from scratch, and was surprised to learn that there is buttermilk in most red velvet cake recipes. I have been a big red velvet cake fan for a while, but as I am a horrible baker, I have never looked at a recipe. You learn something new every day.

Here is the triumphant cakey bastard. I think the crushed walnuts around the outside are a nice touch, especially for spice cakes.



Here is a slice.



The cake went over pretty well, especially the frosting. There is nothing like fresh homemade cream cheese frosting. Also, my new thing is using actual vanilla beans for all of my baked goods. I put the guts of two whole beans in each of the components of this cake (velvet, carrot, and frosting). You can't beat real vanilla flavoring, even though all of the little bits of vanilla make your white frosting look a little muddy.

I don't know why, but I think people get a kick out of these kind of cake mashups. It is something different. Here is a bonus shot of last summers cake, I can't trust that you will click the above link and I want your day to benefit from its magnificence. Bask in it!