Five Layer Carrot Cake from Kate's Kakes

As the vegetable with the second highest sugar content (just behind sugar beets), carrots have been used as a sweetener in desserts since Medieval times. Its use has been documented in puddings, pies and, in more recent history, cakes. The carrot cake was thought to have originated in Scotland, but that is still up for debate. Due to rationing of supplies during World War II, carrot cake became popular in Britain. While the first known published recipe in the US was in 1929 in The Twentieth Century Bride’s Cookbook, the carrot cake did not become truly popular in the US until the second half of the century.

mmm...yummy!

Since that time, the popularity of the carrot cake has grown exponentially. In 2009, this deceptive dessert found its way into the list of the top 5 wedding cake flavors (according to The Knot). Why is it so deceptive? Because in reality, carrot cake is not really a cake. It is far more accurate to call it a quick bread. This is in part due to the preparation method (combining all wet ingredients, combining all dry ingredients, then adding the wet to the dry), and in part due to the density of the “cake.”

Three layer six inch cake

Today, you can find cheesecake as a staple at just about every bakery in America. Some people prefer to eat it plain, as a sweet bread; some prefer to eat it with a simple glaze; but most prefer carrot cake with a cream cheese frosting.

At Kate’s Kakes, we make your carrot cake with fresh carrots and natural, unbleached flour. For a limited time, you can order a 9″ plain or glazed loaf, or a 6″ sample cake with our cream cheese butter cream frosting for $7.50 each. Remember that every cake at Kate’s Kakes is made to order. Please allow up to 4 days to process your order.

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Custom designed screen for Becca's YouTube computer cake through Icing Smiles, Inc.

With such a huge range of things to work with, I had my work cut out for me. I decided the most perfect thing would be a pink tie-dyed computer with YouTube on the screen. It’s not often that I start my cake design with computer editing.  I took all of her favorite artists and incorporated them into Becca’s very own YouTube page. The computer screen and the baby sesame street characters are all printed on an edible sugar paper with edible ink. I also added some Post-it style notes out of fondant that Becca’s mother and sister wrote little notes on with edible ink.

YouTube Computer Cake for Icing Smiles, Inc. Everything is edible! The cake is a rich chocolate fudge cake with peanut butter cream filling, frosted with Kate's Kakes' signature French butter cream, then covered in home made fondant.

This was, by far, the best delivery I have had to date. The original party had to be postponed due to some medical difficulties. So, when the party was rescheduled, Becca’s family didn’t have a lot of time to prepare. I came to drop off the cake and was welcomed into their home with open arms. I saw the pre-party chaos and jumped in to help with the party preparation. I arranged some flowers, tied some bows, cut some veggies and gave hugs all around. Smiles were abundant!

Thank you to Becca and her family for welcoming me so openly into their home and thank you to Icing Smiles for bringing us together. The smiles weren’t just for Becca and her family, they were for me too.

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They loved the cake!

Someone wants to go for a motorcycle ride!

Happy Birthday Deuce Man!

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The snow pile is a gluten-, soy-, dairy- & nut-free cake filled with strawberry meringue and frosted with vanilla meringue. The house is white butter cake filled with strawberry cream & frosted with Kate's Kakes' signature French butter cream.

I had heard about Icing Smiles, Inc. through another cake blog I follow. I read their mission of providing custom celebration cakes to families impacted by critical illness of a child and I knew I had to get involved. I volunteered to be a baker in July of this year.

On September 12th, I got my first request: a 9th birthday cake for a little boy named Sheldon living with an unidentified mitochondrial disorder. I was told Sheldon loves snow and construction; in particular, he loves snowblowers, construction hats and goggles.

All of the figures were hand-crafted from home-made fondant and gumpaste & hand painted.

I was also told that the needed a special gluten-, soy-, dairy- and nut-free cake for Sheldon. This would prove to be the biggest challenge I’ve taken on.

I had 2 weeks to design and create the perfect cake for Sheldon and his family.  But that was the easy part. The biggest challenge was coming up with a recipe that didn’t have butter or margarine (which contains soy proteins). It took a lot of trial and error. My husband was the perfect guinea pig. But in the end, I had a recipe I was satisfied with.

Sheldon was so excited to have his own special cake!

Sheldon’s birthday isn’t just a celebration for him; it’s a day of joy and celebration for his entire family. With all of the support and love that they give one-another, I felt like I needed to incorporate them all into this cake. I decided that a winter scene would be just perfect.

It took a week and a half to complete everything, but in the end, it was worth every second.  The cake turned out perfectly.

Here’s what Sheldon’s mom had to say:

“This cake was perfect for Sheldon! So much detail! I don’t know how you managed to figure out how to get in all the necessary components – snow blower, snow, hard hat, goggles… The snow blower is great! AND it was delicious! Thank you!”

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Comments and ideas are always welcome.

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