Fall wedding? Carrot cake is my choice!

By Scotty Irani, Gayly Food Columnist

You know… if I were to ever get married (hint hint), I would want our wedding cake to be a combination of two flavors; whatever it is he liked and of course, what I like. Naturally, I would have a fall wedding, being that fall is my favorite season (and the colors match my skin tone). Carrot cake is the obvious choice. My carrot cake is the obvious choice, that is.

It’s dense, plenty of flavor and texture, and don't even get me going on that Jezebel cream cheese icing! Happy fall weddings y’all… and Prince Charming, I’m waiting.

Scotty’s Carrot Cake with Jezebel cream cheese icing

1 cup each chopped pecans, walnuts, and shredded coconut (always toast your nuts.) Half for the cake batter, the other half to garnish the outside of your cake.

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. nutmeg

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

4 ounces Grapeseed oil or vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar

4 large eggs

1 tsp. orange zest

1 tbsp. Jack Daniels (may be omitted for teetotalers)

2 tsp. good vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 cups finely grated carrot (about 6 carrots)

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.... Line the bottom of two round cake pans with parchment.

2. Sift flour, spices, salt, and baking soda together in a bowl.

3. Cream butter and both sugars along with the oil. Add room temp eggs one at a time until mixed. Add orange zest, vanilla, and whisky.

4. Slowly add and alternate between flour mixture and buttermilk, until all is blended in well.

5. Scrape down your bowl, and fold in carrots, and half of the toasted nut mixture.

6. Split the batter between your two cake pans. Bake approximately 40 minutes... Check the center with cake tester until it comes out clean. Let rest and remove from pans. Let cool on a cake rack. Ice the two layers with cream cheese frosting. Garnish the outside of the cake with the second half of the toasted nut mixture.

Jezebel cream cheese icing

4 - 8 ounce packages cream cheese, room temp

6 tbsp. sweet butter, room temp

1 jar ITK’s “Jezebel Sauce”

3 cups powdered sugar

1. With an electric mixture, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Mix in half of the Jezebel sauce. Slowly spoon in the powdered sugar until all is incorporated, and your icing has formed.
2. Mix in the last half of Jezebel sauce
3. Let the icing chill, literally, in the fridge to set up. Ice your cooled layered carrot cakes. Be generous.

The Gayly - August 29, 2015 @ 2pm.