Hot Cake

by Kristen Gough, a food writer in Canton, Mich.

Kory Rollison is as handy with a piping bag as he is with a firehose. When the 6-foot 5-inch firefighter isn't on duty as a captain in the Green Oak Township Fire Department in Brighton, Mich., he can be found in his commercial-grade kitchen crafting wedding cakes and other delicate confections.

Pastry chef and firefighter—the two professions seem complete opposites. But Rollison's firefighting experience—talking people through tense, confusing situations—makes him a natural at calming nervous brides and grooms as they try to decide on the perfect cake.

"Often they don't know what they're looking for," he explains. "I try to keep it simple for them by offering eight flavors instead of hundreds."

As far as other firefighters giving him grief over his prowess with pastry, it doesn't happen. "They know not to tease me," laughs Rollison. "If they do, I won't bring them any samples."

To find out more about Kory Rollison and his Wedding Cake Art and Design Center, go to www.weddingcakeartanddesigncenter.com or call (810) 229-5790.

Kory's Carrot Cake

Mark Boughton Photography; styling by Teresa Blackburn

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We made this cake in 3 (8-inch) cake pans, but you can use 2 (9-inch) cake pans instead. For 9-inch pans, bake 75 minutes instead of 60. The food processor makes quick work of chopping the carrots.

Ingredients

Carrot Cake:
4 eggs
1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
2¼ cups sugar
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
20 ounces carrots, finely chopped (about 3¼ cups)
½ cup chopped walnuts
1 cup crushed pineapple, well-drained

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing:
1½ pounds cream cheese, room temperature
2 cups white chocolate chips, melted
¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
Chopped walnuts, for garnish

Instructions

1. To prepare cake, preheat oven to 350F. Line bottom of three 8-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Leave sides of pan dry—no cooking spray needed.
2. Combine eggs and oil in a large mixing bowl. Beat 2 minutes with a mixer on medium speed. Add 1 cup sugar and continue mixing 2 minutes. Add remaining sugar and mix 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Combine flour and next 6 ingredients (flour through nutmeg); add to egg mixture, beating on low speed until blended, about 1 minute. Add carrots, walnuts and pineapple; mix until well combined.
4. Divide batter evenly among pans.
5. Bake 60 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
6. Cool to room temperature on a wire rack. Run knife around edge of cakes and remove from pans. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
7. To prepare icing, place cream cheese in mixing bowl; beat with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add melted chocolate a little at a time, continuing to beat at medium speed. Add butter a little at a time. Scrape down sides of bowl; add lemon rind and beat until combined.
8. Remove cakes from refrigerator. Ice top of one layer. Place second layer on top; ice top. Place third layer on top; ice top and sides of cake. Press chopped walnuts into sides of cake. Serves 20.
Recipe by Kory Rollison ("Hot Cake," May 2009.)

Nutritional Information

Per serving: 552 calories, 41g fat, 100mg chol., 7g prot., 42g carbs., 1.6g fiber, 392mg sodium.

Is the frosting recipe correct? In following the recipe, my "frosting" was nearly as liquid as water. I looked at other similar recipes on the web and noted that each called for "more" powered sugar to make the frosting more spreadable. I ended up adding more than a full cup of powered sugar and refrigeration to reach a spreadable consistency.

jproller
5/9/09 7:44 PM

This cake is hands down the best carrot cake I have ever had! My family
loved it and they are not all carrot cake lovers. The recipe was easy to make and the frosting was incredibly delicious!!! Thank you for sharing Kory.

djunet
5/11/09 10:32 AM

Undoubtedly the best carrot cake I've ever had. We made it in 9-inch pans and baked it 75 minutes. That's a bit too long in our oven, and next time we'll test it at 65 minutes. The icing was great but there was too much, so we'll cut back a bit next time.

I don't know if "Serves 20" is a joke, but it won't make 20 servings at this house -- it's too good!

Thanks,

Robert Wathen

Robert Wathen
5/12/09 1:32 PM

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