Father's Day Carrot Cake

It has come to my attention recently that for the most part people don't need more stuff, and so instead I bake them gifts for most of the assorted Hallmark holidays. It's actually more effort on my part, at least physically, and it's something we can share, instead of another [tie/bouquet] thoughtful but nonetheless impersonal gift. Books don't count, obviously, one can never have too many books.

That being said, I made carrot cake for my dad for this Father's Day, which also meant the most cautious drive from NoVA into MD possible, so as not to lose the cake in a sudden stop or turn. I think I watched the cake more than the road. hm. Any minute now he'll cut a slice, and then I can post this! Unfortunately I don't have the recipe with me to include (and I don't mind keeping it a bit of a secret), but you can easily find it in the Williams Sonoma Essentials of Baking book I'm sure I've touted before.



I'm not sure whether it's harder to zest a squeezed citrus, or to squeeze a zested one. Either way, once it lacks some cohesion it's difficult to handle. Sometimes I forget things like: Orange juice comes from oranges, therefore "juice of one orange" could theoretically come from a carton, not the fresh fruit I just squeezed to death.



This is possibly my favourite frosting: cream cheese, white chocolate and orange juice (and butter). It's pretty sweet, thanks to the white chocolate, but has that cream cheese tang and then the orange flavor. I'm also a sucker for cream cheese pie crust, which gets used most frequently for the awesome cranberry apple pie I make in the Autumn and Winter.

Anywho, Happy Father's Day to all, but especially to mine.