Tricia's Week 25 Recipes: Gingerbread Cake, Carrot Cake, and Homemade Brownies

 The two cakes are from my new Joy of Cooking 75th Anniversary Edition cookbook.  The brownie recipe I found online in grams because I purchased a new kitchen scale and needed to try it out (and also a sifter).

Carrot Cake
Whisk together:
1&1/3 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground clove
1/2 tsp grated or ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp salt

In another bowl, whisk together
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3 lg eggs

Combine eggs mixture into above, and add 1 &1/2 cup shredded carrots, 1 cup chopped walnuts.  Pour batter into greased 13x9 in pan, bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.  Frost with favorite frosting, I made a basic cream cheese frosting w 1 stick  butter, 8 oz cream cheese, 1 tsp vanilla, and as much powdered sugar as it took to make it taste right :)

Gingerbread cake
Makes one 9x9 cake.  I had no 9x9 cake pan, so I used a 10 in springform pan.  It worked.
mix together:
2 1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt

Mix together in a small bowl
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup light molasses (I only had dark, and it worked)

In a large bowl, combine 1 stick butter, melted; 1 large egg; and 1/2 cup sugar.  Then add alternating dry and wet mixtures above until batter is thoroughly mixed and iff desired add 3 tbsp finely chopped crystallized ginger (I had none).  Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until done.  Frost, if desired, with basic milk, vanilla, and powdered sugar icing.

Brownies
I decided I needed to use my new kitchen scale and found the follwoing recipe from cooking with chocolate (www.cacaoweb.net)
170 grams butter, melted
330 grams sugar
2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
85 grams flour
50 grams cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt (I didn't use b/c I had salted butter)
100 gram chopped walnuts

Beat together eggs with sugar, add vanilla, flour, cocoa, baking powder, and melted butter.  If you would like to make this vegan, sub 3/4 cup med firm drained tofu.  Place in greased 13 x 9 in pan and bake at 350 for 200-30 min, until toothpick in center comes out clean.  Top with sifted powdered sugar.  Devour.

All three were great fun to make, but I really loved making the brownies because I could use a scale and be all geeky and nerdy in my kitchen.  I will enjoy making more dessert recipes from all my cookbooks, and bringing in the spoils to work.  Like right now, I'm going to go get on that!  PS - all three were delicious!