A New Direction and Carrot Cake!

             I've decided that in order to keep my motivation for writing here going, I'm taking some-what of a new motivational direction with this blog (this doesn't mean I won't write about other things as well though)! I am an avid "Farmers Market" goer and believe in everything local and fresh. We buy all of our beef and pork from a local farm and get farm fresh eggs almost every week. I also make it a personal mission of mine to try and go every chance I get to buy fresh produce; so the Farmers Market is nothing new to me. I am using this as my inspiration to keep this blog going. I will commit to going every week to the Farmers Market (usually on Saturday, as in the winter this is the only day it is put on) and to find something that inspires me. Whether it be something to cook or bake with, or try a new DIY/craft. So with all that, meet squash:

            Acorn squash, to be specific. Now, to some of you this might not be that daunting. To me, it's terrifying. We're not big squash eaters in this household. I would love to be, except I haven't the foggiest idea how to prepare them half the time, not to mention the other half is somewhat of a picky eater - more of a "Gimme a steak, skip the veg" kind-a guy. I got this lovely squash from the queen herself, The Squash Queen. Now, I'll be honest with you, I picked this pretty thing up and asked her point-blank what it was because I certainly didn't know! After informing me of it's name and giving me some suggestions on how to prepare it (involving one that I followed), I paid for the squash and came home.
           As soon as I got home, I knew I was in for it. I don't want to just roast the thing and have it as a side for supper - how boring is that?! I wanted to do something interesting - I wanted to stick to what I do best and bake something! So, after some research about exactly what this beautiful squash is (and learning that it's high in fiber and potassium with Vitamin C, B magnesium and manganese - who knew?) and several "What can I do with this?!" questions to the other half, he suggested a carrot cake. I've known you can replace fats in recipes with vegetable and fruit purees for a while, so I figured I'd do the same with a carrot cake. I adapted the Canadian Living Carrot Cake recipe I found online that I've used before. And wha-la!

 

          So how do I turn the above squash into this, you ask? First I split it open and scooped out the seeds (which, for some reason, I was surprised to see!) and then placed it on an aluminum foil covered baking sheet. I placed a couple of tablespoons of water on the bottom of the pan to keep the squash moist and almost steam it in the oven. Next, I placed butter, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon into the crevices of the squash like such:

1 tbsp. of butter,each

1 tbsp. of brown sugar, each

pinch of salt in each

1/4 tsp. cinnamon, divided between the two pieces

 

            Cover the squash with more aluminum foil and place in a 400 degree for about 45 minutes - this depends on the size of your squash and your own oven. Just check it after about 40 minutes, if it is fork-tender, remove the squash and let cool fully. You'll notice when you take the squash out that there will be a pool of brown-sugar-butter-goodness in the squash itself - DO NOT DUMP THIS OUT! Once everything has cooled, pour the brown-sugar-butter goodness into a blender and then scoop out the squash flesh and put in the blender as well. I have a Magic Bullet smoothie maker knock-off so I just used that. I hate the bulk of my blender.

            Puree the squash and liquid until you have a very smooth consistency with NO LUMPS. The puree looks like baby food. Just a warning.

          Now you're ready to bake the cake! Gather all of your other ingredients for the carrot cake:

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tbsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

salt

2 c. grated carrots

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. squash puree

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

3 eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and pre-grease a 9x9 metal pan.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder and soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt) in a large bowl.
3. Mix all wet ingredients (brown sugar, squash puree, vanilla and eggs) in a smaller bowl.
4. Put the grated carrots into the flour mixture and mix around until the carrots are coated with flour*
5. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Don't worry if the batter looks slightly "gluey/gluppy".
6. Bake in the oven for approximately 45-50 minutes (again, depends on your oven). Check the cake at about 45 minutes with a tooth-pick. 

7. Let cool completely on a rack before icing.

*Mix the carrots in the flour first as this coats them in flour and helps them "stick" all throughout the cake instead of sinking to the bottom. This will help you have an even distribution of carrots throughout the cake!

      

        While the cake cools, you can prepare the icing:

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing

1 package (8 oz.) of cream cheese, room temperature

3/4 c. icing (powdered) sugar

1 tsp. heaping cinnamon

2 tsp. lemon juice

1. Mix everything together with electric beaters until incorporated and fluffy!

2. Ice your carrot cake.

           Ta-da! The kids (or in my case, the other half) will be none-the-wiser! He actually ate my "picture piece" without me asking him to try it! Carrot cake = win in my house.

           I hope you enjoy! Again, if you try this recipe don't be afraid to experiment! Let me know how it turns out either way. Til then, more on dogs, love, chocolate and everything in-between!

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