Birthday Cakes: Carrot and German Chocolate

Happy birthday to the twin owners! Naturally we celebrated their birthday eve last night, so as to watch the SEC Championship uninterrupted this evening.

David can’t remember how old he is, so maybe we could cut him into like a pecan tree and count the rings? Or ask Donald and subtract five minutes?

David can’t remember how old he is, so maybe we could cut him into like a pecan tree and count the rings? Or ask Donald and subtract five minutes?

Isn’t it wild how all good things have pecans? For the boys’ birthday, we asked what flavor cakes they’d like. Coincidentally, both their choices, carrot and German chocolate, are heavy on pecans. Is it a product of mere exposure, and they’ve become conditioned to love pecans? Or is it more likely that all good things inherently have pecans?

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Regardless, celebrate David and Donald with us and make one of these cakes!

P.S. Either would be good decorated with a layer of Sugar Fried pecans….

First we have Donald’s German chocolate cake, made lovingly by Donald’s daughter Mary Catherine. It is actually a fabulous recipe from Southern Living. Here’s the link: https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/mamas-german-chocolate-cake

Please do not fault the baker’s frosting writing skills. She tried.

Please do not fault the baker’s frosting writing skills. She tried.

Next we have the carrot cake recipe, requested by David in homage to his lovely red haired daughter who made it ;). It started as a recipe from who-knows-what cookbook, but has lived on David’s computer through so many alterations that the original is unrecognizable. You’ll notice it’s smaller than the German chocolate, but it’s because we halved the recipe to fit our smaller cake tins. Attached is the full sized recipe.


Carrot Cake

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 2 teaspoons baking soda

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

  • 3 large eggs

  • 2 cups sugar

  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil

  • 3/4 cup buttermilk

  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

  • 2 cups grated carrot

  • 1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

  • 1 (3 1/2-ounce) can flaked coconut

  • 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preparation

Line 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with wax paper; lightly grease and flour wax paper. Set pans aside.

Stir together first 4 ingredients.

Beat eggs and next 4 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add flour mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Fold in carrot and next 3 ingredients. Pour batter into prepared cake pans.

Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 15 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks. Spread Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake.

Cream Cheese Frosting

  • 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

  • 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

  • 1 (16-ounce) package powdered sugar, sifted

  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat ingredients at medium high speed in electric mixer until smooth and creamy.

Sarah Kate Johnson