Gingered Carrot Cake and New Silver Cups

Photo from Cooking with Paula Deen; March/April 2010

The bidding started at $100 and was quickly raised to $125, $150, then $200.  In the wave of a bidder's card the amount was $300, $325 and finally ended at $350.  The crowd clapped and the happy winning bidder took her cake to her table and began to cut pieces to share.
Fairbanks North Star Borough, where Fairbanks is located, participates in Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.  Age appropriate books are mailed to children ages birth through five.  This service is free of charge to the family, so this organization is doing lots of fund-raising to pay for these books.
Once a year they have a dinner, live auction, and recognize members of our community that go above and beyond the call of duty to make life better for children.
After dinner and awards the live auction takes place.  Every year there is a cake, baked by the same person who is a board member of the Imagination Library, FNSB chapter.  Each year the bidding goes higher and higher.  This year the cake was a Ginger, Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese frosting and it was on a hand crafted cake stand made of maple, crafted by the baker's husband. The cake was moist, sweet and with a subtle hit of ginger.  The winning bid was $350.  Now, that will take care of a number of kids' books this year.  I ran into Nancy, the cake baker, at the grocery store and asked if she would share her recipe, so here you have the $350 carrot cake you can make yourself.

As for the new silver cups, I really scored a deal.  I won the bid for these cute little cups, they are silver plated and a set of six with a velvet/wood box.  I went to Ebay® to see what they might really be worth.  I found a set of four, exact same pattern and size, for £ .99, which coverts to about $1.15.  It is a good thing I got six cups, that means I only paid about 100% too much!  Again, it will buy a lot of books for some kids.

Gingered Carrot Cake
Recipe and photo of cake from Cooking with Paula Deen, March/April 2010
Make 1 (9-inch) cake
1.5 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon lemon zest
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 cups grated carrot
Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)
Garnish: Chopped pecans, lemon slices

Preheat oven to 350º F.  Spray 3 (9 inch) round cake pans with nonstick baking spray with flour.
In large bowl, combine oil, sugar, and eggs; beat at medium-high speed with an electric mixer until creamy.  Add lemon zest, beating until combined.
In medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Gradually add to oil mixture, beating until combined.  Stir in grated carrot.  Spoon batter evenly into prepared pans and bake for 18-22 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Let cool in pans for 10 minutes.  Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.  Spread Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting evenly between layers and on top and sides of cake.  Garnish if desired.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes about 5 cups
1 cup butter, softened
1 (8-oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
6 cups confectioners' sugar

In a large bowl, beat butter, cream cheese, lemon zest, and lemon juice at medium speed with a mixer until creamy.  Gradually add sugar, beating until smooth.

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