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. 

late summer makes me feel like i'm in a mad dash against time. the tuesday after labor day instils in me this sudden urgency to soak up the last beach days, get all my little swimmers as far as they can go before we break for the cold months and this intense need to cook and gobble up every last bit of summer produce. 

seriously, why is it that so many of my favorite fruits are here for a blink and then gone? figs are on the top of my list. i know that come october, they will be impossible to get a hold of. so i will continue to pick up a pack at every store i stop in till the last possible second. 

but mass amounts of figs at my house means i have to find lots of uses for them. i was recently having lunch with my friend shireen and she mentioned that she was dying for a fig newton (pregnancy craving) but that when she looked at the nutritional info it was awful. with her in mind, i wanted something that taste just as delicious as that favorite childhood snack, but with way less effort. because ain't nobody got time for that. especially not me. 

fig + blackberry galette
serves: 8-10
prep time: 10 minutes
active time: 15 minutes
inactive time: 30 minutes
bake time: 55 minutes
total time: 2 hours
ingredients:
for crust - 1 cup all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting. 1 tsp sugar. 1 pinch kosher salt. 6 tbs cold butter, cubed into .5 inch pieces. .25 cup ice cold water. plastic wrap. rolling pin.
for filling - 12 oz sliced black figs. 12 oz blackberries. 3 tbs melted butter. 3 tbs sugar. 1 tsp lemon zest. pinch of kosher salt. baking sheet. parchment paper or silicone baking mat. plastic pastry cutter (optional). 

start by making your crust. in a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. add in half the butter. 

use your hands or a pastry cutter. 

combine until your mixture starts to turn into pieces the size of a small pea. 

add in the rest of the butter and continue combining with your hands or the cutter till you have bigger chunks. about the size of a larger bean. 

pour in your water and mix till completely combined. form the dough into a rough ball. 

flatten out the dough, and wrap it up in plastic wrap. refrigerate for 30 minutes. preheating your oven to 400 degrees. once your dough has chilled, flour a clean surface and lightly flour your rolling pin. 

roll your dough out till it is about an eighth of an inch thick. transfer your dough to the parchment or silicone mat lined baking sheet. 

fill the dough with the fruit and lemon zest, leaving a two inch boarder all the way around. 

fold the edges of your galette in. sprinkle the fruit and edges of the dough with the sugar.

drizzle your melted butter over the top and brush the edges of the crust so that the crust is lightly coated with butter. 

bake for 50-55 minutes till the edges are golden brown. remove from the oven, allow it to cool slightly and serve warm. bonus points if you serve it topped with ice cream or whipped cream. 

xo, a

fig + blackberry galette
serves: 8-10
prep time: 10 minutes
active time: 15 minutes
inactive time: 30 minutes
bake time: 55 minutes
total time: 2 hours
ingredients:
for crust - 1 cup all purpose flour, plus extra for dusting. 1 tsp sugar. 1 pinch kosher salt. 6 tbs cold butter, cubed into .5 inch pieces. .25 cup ice cold water. plastic wrap. rolling pin. for filling - 12 oz sliced black figs. 12 oz blackberries. 3 tbs melted butter. 3 tbs sugar. 1 tsp lemon zest. pinch of kosher salt. baking sheet. parchment paper or silicone baking mat. plastic pastry cutter (optional).
start by making your crust. in a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt. add in half the butter. use your hands or a pastry cutter. combine until your mixture starts to turn into pieces the size of a small pea. add in the rest of the butter and continue combining with your hands or the cutter till you have bigger chunks. about the size of a larger bean. pour in your water and mix till completely combined. form the dough into a rough ball. flatten out the dough, and wrap it up in plastic wrap. refrigerate for 30 minutes. preheating your oven to 400 degrees. once your dough has chilled, flour a clean surface and lightly flour your rolling pin. roll your dough out till it is about an eighth of an inch thick. transfer your dough to the parchment or silicone mat lined baking sheet. fill the dough with the fruit and lemon zest, leaving a two inch boarder all the way around. fold the edges of your galette in. sprinkle the fruit and edges of the dough with the sugar. drizzle your melted butter over the top and brush the edges of the crust so that the crust is lightly coated with butter. bake for 50-55 minutes till the edges are golden brown. remove from the oven, allow it to cool slightly and serve warm. bonus points if you serve it topped with ice cream or whipped cream.