Carrot Cake with Goat Cheese Frosting

These adorable mini olive oil carrot cakes with goat cheese frosting are rich, decadent and full of flavour!

Carrot cake should be rich, decadent and moist. One bite should make you forget that carrots are a vegetable and considered healthy. Cake even carrot cake is meant to be an indulgence not just some coverup for eating your vegetables.  This carrot cake delivers on that promise. It is decadent and full of flavour.

Olive Oil Carrot Cake

To be perfectly honest I was a bit nervous using olive oil in this cake. I wasn't sure how it would turn out. I have never experimented with olive oil in a cake before always thinking its flavour would be too strong and over powering. Using olive oil in the batter rather than a canola or vegetable oil creates a delicious depth of flavour. I love the unique flavours that it brought to this carrot cake and I cannot wait to experiment more with olive oil in sweet desserts. 

Goat Cheese Frosting

Since I was already playing with typically savoury flavours of carrot and olive oil I decided to take it one step further and not just use a typical cream cheese frosting. This goat cheese frosting is deliciously tart and silky smooth! I encourage you to try it even it feels a little bit outside of your comfort zone. If you are in a pinch you can always use this cream cheese frosting. The combination of the goat cheese frosting with the olive oil carrot cake takes this carrot cake up a notch from your typical carrot cake. 

Olive Oil Carrot Cake

Makes: One 6 inch layered cake or 8-10 mini cakes

Ingredients

2 c AP flour

2 c carrots, shredded

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1.5 c brown sugar

1/2 c white sugar

1 c olive oil

4 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 350F. For 6 inch cakes - grease and flour two 6 inch cake pans. For mini cakes - line a sheet pan with parchment paper and grease

In a medium size bowl, combine flour, carrots, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. In a large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, white sugar, and olive oil. Whisk in eggs one at a time. Whisk in vanilla. Fold your dry ingredients into your wet until just combined.

For 6 inch cake, split batter evenly between the two pans. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. For mini cakes - spread the batter out evenly on the sheet pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted into centre comes out clean

All cakes to cool completely on wire rack before frosting. For the mini cakes use a 3 inch round cookie cutter to cut out cake layers

Goat Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

1 c butter, room temperature

4 oz (120g) goats cheese

3 c icing sugar

1 tsp clear vanilla extract

Directions

In the bowl of stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter and goats cheese on medium to high speed until light and fluffy

Add the icing sugar one cup at a time. Add in vanilla extract. Beat for 2-3 minutes on medium to high speed until light, fluffy and airy.

Frost cakes as desired

Chocolate Cream Puffs

Delicious and airy chocolate cream puffs filled with a citrus orange whipped cream filling! 

I am so excited about these chocolate cream puffs! They were a fun change for me. I have never experimented Pate a Choux pastry before. I was watching the Food Network as I do - more often then I care to admit.  Baked with Anna Olson, one of my favourites was on - I love how she transforms the same dessert into multiple different creations.  In the episode was all about making Pate a Choux and I thought I want to try that!

 It's something I have never made before but I like a new challenge. The pastry looked intriguing. It puffs up and bakes up so beautifully with no chemical leavener (baking soda, baking powder etc.). The steam trapped within the pastry is what causes the dough to rise. The basic dough contains water, butter, flour and eggs. It can be used both sweet or savoury. I knew this was something I had to add to my baking repertoire.  So last weekend I spent some time playing around with this pastry recipe and made these delicious chocolate cream puffs. I filled them with an orange whipped cream. I love the combination of orange and chocolate together. The hint of citrusy orange is perfect with the whipped cream and chocolate. I can't wait to make more desserts with Pate a Choux pastry! 

Pate a Choux

Makes 18-24

Ingredients

1 c water

1/2 c butter, cut into cubes

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

1 c flour

4 eggs

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 425F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside

In a medium saucepan, over medium heat, combine the water, butter, salt & sugar. Simmer until the butter has melted and the mixture comes to a light boil. Take the mixture off the heat and stir in the flour with a wooden spoon. Place the mixture back on the heat and continue to stir until the mixture starts to come off the sides of the pan and a ball forms.

Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool for 4-5 minutes. Stir in eggs one at a time. The mixture will break or come apart with each addition but should come back together before you add the additional egg. Your pastry should be shinny and of a smooth consistency.

Transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large round tip (I used a coupler) and pipe about 2 inches apart onto baking sheet. Use a small amount of water to smooth out peak on each dough mound.

Bake for 10 minutes for at 425F, then drop oven temperature to 375F and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Allow shells to cool completely before filling.

Orange Whipped Cream Filling

Ingredients

1.5 c heavy whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp icing sugar

zest from one orange (approx. 1 tbsp)

Directions

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment, combine the whipping cream, vanilla extract and icing sugar. Chill for 15 minutes. Whip mixture on high speed for 3-5 minutes or until stiff peaks form. Fold orange zest into whipped cream mixture

Chocolate Ganache 

Ingredients

4 oz semi sweet chocolate, chopped

4 oz heavy cream

Directions

Place chopped chocolate in a medium heat proof bowl. In a small saucepan heat cream over low to medium heat until just before boiling. Pour hot cream over chopped chocolate and whisk until smooth

Assembling your Cream Puffs

Fill a pipping bag fitted with a large round tip (I used Wilton 12) with your orange whipped cream filling. Poke your pipping tip into the bottom of a cooled cream puff shell. Pipe filling into bottom of each shell until filling starts to ooze out. Dipped filled cream puffs into chocolate ganache. Enjoy!

Funfetti Cupcakes

Funfetti cupcakes always make me feel like a kid again. The sprinkles in the batter really give them that something extra. I love the explosion of colours! I made these cupcakes recently to celebrate a trio of friends' March birthdays. They were quite a hit with everyone at the party. It's hard not to smile when someone gives you a cupcake but its even harder when they are as cheerful as these funfetti cupcakes. Enjoy! 

Funfetti Cupcakes

 Makes 18 Cupcakes

Ingredients

For the Cupcakes

2 c cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 c butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 c sugar

3 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 c milk

1/2 c sprinkles

For the Frosting

1 c butter, at room temperature

4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature

4.5 c icing sugar

2 tsp clear vanilla extract

1-3 tbsp heavy cream

Sprinkles

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners, set aside.

In a medium bowl sift together cake flour, baking powder and salt, set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, on medium-high speed cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, scrapping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract. On low speed, slowly the flour mixture alternating with the milk mix until just incorporated. On low speed, mix the sprinkles into the batter. Be careful not to over mix or all the colours will run and turn your batter an unpleasant colour.

Scoop the batter into prepared cupcake liners. They should be about 2/3s full. Bake for 20-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

For the Frosting: In a stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment, on medium to high speed beat together the butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add icing sugar, beat until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Beat in heavy cream 1 tablespoon at a time until desired consistency is reached.

Frost cupcakes as desired, top with sprinkles