when i was little, i NEVER had cake for my birthday. no no, i was not a deprived child. i just didn't like cake. i always asked for strawberry pie with whipped cream instead. cake in my mind meant something dry, lacking flavor with some very strange, artificial tasting frosting and usually some really crunchy sugar confetti that looked like it had been sitting on the shelf longer than i had been alive. so it is no wonder at all that i requested pie. 

somewhere along the way, i stored carrot cake into a mental file of things i didn't like. now as a cook, i realize that my list of foods i didn't like was actually a list of foods i had that weren't cooked well. as a kid, i had convinced myself lamb was gross because the only lamb i had ever eaten was cooked till it was fifty shads of grey and served with mint jelly. i won't tell you who ruined it for me (cough. grandma.). anyway, you get the picture. carrot cake had made its way to my naughty list. 

but man oh man, was i a fool. now that my cake business has picked up, i have started receiving heaps of requests for carrot cake. in the beginning, being that i thought i didn't care for carrot cake, i would steer clients in the direction of lemon or classic chocolate. but when a weeding client's favorite was carrot, i knew i had to get over my likes and dislikes and make a damn good carrot cake. so i went to my best baking resource. that same lamb cooking grandmother. all my earliest memories of baking are with her and most of my classic recipes are hers, so i knew she would have a winner. and man was i right!

carrot cake serves: 8-10
prep time: 10 minutes
active time: 5 minutes
baking time: 30-40 minutes
cooling + assembly time: 1 hour
total time: 2 hours
ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour. 2 cups sugar. 1.25 cups vegetable oil. 4 eggs. 2 tsp baking powder. 1 tsp baking soda. 2 tsp cinnamon. 1 tsp allspice. 1 tsp kosher salt. 3 cups grated heirloom carrots (standard orange also work great if that is what you have). stand mixer with paddle attachment or hand blender. baking pans (either 2 8 inch rounds, 3 6 inch rounds or a 9 x 13). parchment for the bottom of your pans. nonstick cooking spray. cream cheese frosting for serving.

start by preheating the oven to 325 degrees f. in the bowl of your stand mixer or in a large bowl, combine the sugar and oil. mix until well combined. about 1-2 minutes. mix together your dry ingredients in a bowl. 

with the mixer on slow add in half of your dry ingredient followed by two of your eggs. 

when well combined, add in the rest of the dry ingredients and the remaining eggs. 

when well combined, start to add in your carrots. 

add in about half until combined and then pour in the rest. 

spray your baking pans and line them with parchment paper. 

pour your batter equally into the pans you are using. 

bake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out of the center of each layer clean. 

remove the baking pans from the oven onto a cooling rack and allow them to cool to room temperature. remove the baking pans from the oven onto a cooling rack and allow them to cool to room temperature. 

use cream cheese frosting to frost your cake and serve or store in a cool place until time to serve. you can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. 

xo, a
carrot cake
serves: 8-10
prep time: 10 minutes
active time: 5 minutes
baking time: 30-40 minutes
cooling + assembly time: 1 hour total time: 2 hours
ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour. 2 cups sugar. 1.25 cups vegetable oil. 4 eggs. 2 tsp baking powder. 1 tsp baking soda. 2 tsp cinnamon. 1 tsp allspice. 1 tsp kosher salt. 3 cups grated heirloom carrots (standard orange also work great if that is what you have). stand mixer with paddle attachment or hand blender. baking pans (either 2 8 inch rounds, 3 6 inch rounds or a 9 x 13). parchment for the bottom of your pans. nonstick cooking spray. cream cheese frosting for serving.  2 tsp cinnamon. 1 tsp allspice. 1 tsp kosher salt. 3 cups grated heirloom carrots (standard orange also work great if that is what you have). stand mixer with paddle attachment or hand blender. baking pans (either 2 8 inch rounds, 3 6 inch rounds or a 9 x 13). parchment for the bottom of your pans. nonstick cooking spray. cream cheese frosting for serving.
start by preheating the oven to 325 degrees f. in the bowl of your stand mixer or in a large bowl, combine the sugar and oil. mix until well combined. about 1-2 minutes.mix together your dry ingredients in a bowl. with the mixer on slow add in half of your dry ingredient followed by two of your eggs. when well combined, add in the rest of the dry ingredients and the remaining eggs. when well combined, start to add in your carrots. add in about half until combined and then pour in the rest. spray your baking pans and line them with parchment paper. pour your batter equally into the pans you are using. bake for 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out of the center of each layer clean. remove the baking pans from the oven onto a cooling rack and allow them to cool to room temperature. use cream cheese frosting to frost your cake and serve or store in a cool place until time to serve. you can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. 

the last couple days in socal have been raining and i freaking love it. LOVE IT. the last two days were spent at home, fireplace blazing and lots of action in the kitchen. 

wes had to work all weekend, so i asked him what he wanted for dinner. no surprise, i got the same answer i usually get from my VERY italian husband. bolognese of course. 

since the rain was coming down, there was no way i was leaving the house for additional ingredients so i decided to adjust for what i had in the house. and thank goodness i did. this version is much lighter in fat, but is very full in flavor. perfect for a rainy day, or a just because we want to day. 

turkey bolognese
serves: 6
prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 1 hour
total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
ingredients: 1 lb ground turkey. 2 slices thick cut bacon, chopped. 1 onion, diced. 2 celery stalks, diced. 2 carrots, diced. 5 garlic cloves, minced. 1 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped. 2 tbs + 1 tsp basil, finely chopped. 1 tsp dried thyme. 1 c white wine. .25 c tomato paste. 32 oz can crushed tomatoes (if you only have whole, you can crush them yourself). 1.5 c milk. 1 tbs salt. .5 tbs pepper. 1 lb your favorite pasta. grated parmesan for serving.

start by crisping your bacon pieces in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. about 15 minutes. stir occasionally to break the pieces away from one another and all sides brown. 

when the bacon is crispy and browned, add in the onion, carrots and celery. season with a few pinches of salt and a bit of pepper and cook over medium heat until onions are translucent. stir every couple minutes. about 5-7 minutes. 

push all your veggies to the sides of the pot. pat the turkey dry, season with half your remaining salt and pepper and add to the pot. cook until browned, breaking it up and stirring every couple minutes. about 7-10 minutes. as the turkey browns, work your veggies back into the mixture. 

stir in the thyme, oregano, 1 tsp of the basil and the garlic. cook until the garlic is fragrant. about 1 minute. 

when the garlic is fragrant, pour in the wine. cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated, stirring every couple minutes. about 5-7 minutes. 

stir in the tomato paste until everything is lightly coated. season with remaining salt and pepper and pour in the tomatoes. stir well to combine. 

simmer until the liquid from the tomatoes has reduced slightly. about 10-15 minutes.

while your tomatoes are simmering, heat a large pot of salted water over high heat until boiling. when your tomatoes have simmered, pour in the milk. stir well to combine and bring the bolognese back up to a simmer. once the sauce simmers, reduce the heat to low just to keep it warm. 

cook your pasta per the instructions. when your pasta is al dente, strain and pour right into your sauce. stir well to coat the noodles.
serve pasta topped with fresh parmesan and basil.

xo, a

turkey bolognese
serves: 6
prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 1 hour
total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
ingredients: 1 lb ground turkey. 2 slices thick cut bacon, chopped. 1 onion, diced. 2 celery stalks, diced. 2 carrots, diced. 5 garlic cloves, minced. 1 tsp fresh oregano, finely chopped. 2 tbs + 1 tsp basil, finely chopped. 1 tsp dried thyme. 1 c white wine. .25 c tomato paste. 32 oz can crushed tomatoes (if you only have whole, you can crush them yourself). 1.5 c milk. 1 tbs salt. .5 tbs pepper. 1 lb your favorite pasta. grated parmesan for serving.

tart by crisping your bacon pieces in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. about 15 minutes. stir occasionally to break the pieces away from one another and all sides brown.
when the bacon is crispy and browned, add in the onion, carrots and celery. season with a few pinches of salt and a bit of pepper and cook over medium heat until onions are translucent. stir every couple minutes. about 5-7 minutes. 
push all your veggies to the sides of the pot. pat the turkey dry, season with half your remaining salt and pepper and add to the pot. cook until browned, breaking it up and stirring every couple minutes. about 7-10 minutes. as the turkey browns, work your veggies back into the mixture. stir in the thyme, oregano, 1 tsp of the basil and the garlic. cook until the garlic is fragrant. about 1 minute.

when the garlic is fragrant, pour in the wine. cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated, stirring every couple minutes. about 5-7 minutes.

stir in the tomato paste until everything is lightly coated. season with remaining salt and pepper and pour in the tomatoes. stir well to combine. simmer until the liquid from the tomatoes has reduced slightly. about 10-15 minutes.
while your tomatoes are simmering, heat a large pot of salted water over high heat until boiling.
when your tomatoes have simmered, pour in the milk. stir well to combine and bring the bolognese back up to a simmer. once the sauce simmers, reduce the heat to low just to keep it warm.
cook your pasta per the instructions. when your pasta is al dente, strain and pour right into your sauce. stir well to coat the noodles.
serve pasta topped with fresh parmesan and basil.