Cooking Class #2

Yes, this cake was as good as it looks, especially the frosting.  There was way too much, and I loved every minute of it!  These are the last of my pictures from the cooking class at Central Market.  The first thing we made was the red velvet carrot cake, because it had to bake the longest.  So essentially the whole class I was waiting in anticipation to dig in, and it was worth the wait.  Recipe will be included at the end of the post!

Our job was working on the BBQ turkey dish.  I made the BBQ sauce, and C seasoned the turkey.  I normally don't cook with turkey breasts, I use ground turkey.  I liked the texture of the turkey breast though, and will be trying to find a couple more meals to use them in... hopefully there will be posts to come on that.

I was concentrating really hard; I felt a little pressure with the instructor right next to me.  The BBQ sauce we made was very good, a little fruity, and I really enjoyed it.  I want to try to make some on my own, and possibly give it as a gift.  I figured it would be something unique and fun to do.

Another snap shot of David, my favorite person in the whole class.  He was telling us he learned how to cook in the army, and that he didn't need any lessons :)  Here's he's making gravy for fried monkfish. I've never cooked monkfish, but it was very tasty, click here for some info on the fish.  It's a very ugly fish, the instructor told us this, and I'm just now seeing how right she is.  It was very good though, not really fishy and had a nice texture, similar to lobster.  Don't let the picture turn you off!

David's gravy turned out very well!

Another quick plug for Central Market (no, they're not paying me although I would be open to that!)  Such a fun and interesting place to shop, and the classes are a blast!  Take a look at their website if you're ever interested in one of the classes: CM Cooking School.

Red Velvet Carrot Cake

4 eggs

1 1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 cups white sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon red food coloring *add more if you want it to be very red!

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 cups grated carrots

Best Frosting Ever (according to me)

1/2 cup butter, softened

8oz cream cheese, softened

4 cups confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, sugar, food coloring, and vanilla.

Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

Stir in carrots, and pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan for around 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

For Frosting combine butter, cream cheese, sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl. 

Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

Frost the cooled cake.

*Note - sift the confectioners' sugar to make sure your frosting doesn't have lumps!