Food & Party Planning Ideas
Celebrate Spring with Style
Call them April fools if you will, but for many people the real start of the new year isn't cold, wintry January, but when the first warm breezes of spring begin to stir. The return of warm weather is not only the foundation of spring's appeal but also the source of the season's greatest glory – blooming flowers and sprouting vegetable gardens.
Just as surely as April showers bring May flowers, they also usher in May radishes, scallions, new potatoes and baby peas. Vegetables may not rhyme with "showers," but they are a good reason for celebration. "There is something almost regenerative about the first spring vegetables from the garden," said Nancy Siler, consumer affairs director of Wilton Enterprises. "Making a meal of vegetables helps us to feel revitalized and get ready for a more active lifestyle."
Siler suggests celebrating the season with a tasty all-vegetable meal, including the dessert. "I like to carry the spring vegetable theme all the way through the meal," she said. "A double-layer carrot cake is a great spring dessert and looks fantastic on the table."
The cake takes advantage of the natural sweetness of spring carrots and adds cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice, along with raisins and pineapple to provide an exotic, savory twist to standard carrot cake. A white chocolate and cream cheese icing adds an elegant finish, which is decorated with brightly-colored rolled fondant carrots.
"A lot of people aren't familiar with rolled fondant, but it is a very popular type of icing in Europe and Canada," Siler explains. "It's so easy to work with and produces great-looking decorations and cakes." With the fondant carrots serving as it's festive crown, the Wilton carrot cake is the perfect ending to a meal celebrating the beginning of spring.
CARROT CAKE WITH WHITE CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESE ICING
Tools:
1 set 9" Round Wilton Performance Pans
Vegetable Spray
Large Mixing Bowl
Medium Mixing Bowl
Hand Mixer
13" Round Wilton Wire Cooling Grid
4 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon each nutmeg, cloves, allspice and salt
4 cups (approx. 1 lb.) grated carrots
2/3 cups chopped nuts
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour two nine-inch round pans or spray with vegetable pan spray. In large mixing bowl, beat eggs until foamy; add oil and vanilla, beat well. In separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice and salt together; add to egg mixture and mix well. Fold in carrots, nuts, raisins and pineapple. Pour into prepared pans and bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans and invert on wire rack to cool.
Makes 12-14 servings.
Recipe Courtesy of Wilton Enterprises.
WHITE CHOCOLATE CREAM CHEESE ICING
Tools:
Large Mixing Bowl
Hand Mixer
1 package (12 oz.) Wilton White Premium Candy Melts®
2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup unsalted butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Melt candy melts according to package directions.
Allow candy to cool slightly, stirring occasionally (don't allow it to become firm).
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese (preferably with a flat beater) until smooth and creamy. Gradually beat in the cooled candy until blended and smooth. Beat in butter and lemon juice.
ROLLED FONDANT CARROT
Tools:
1 package Wilton Rolled Fondant
Wilton Orange Icing Color
Wilton Green Tubed Decorating Icing
Wilton Decorating Tip No. 349
Color 1/2 package fondant orange. Blend well. Roll 1-inch ball of fondant between palms, forming a 2-inch tapered carrot shape. With a blunt straight-edged object, mark indentations along carrot. Let dry several hours or overnight. Using tip no. 349, pipe on pulled-out leaves.
To Decorate Cake:
Smooth a small amount of icing on bottom layer of cake; top side up. Top with second layer bottom side up. Frost cake with remaining icing. Decorate with rolled fondant carrots.
Recipe Courtesy of Wilton Enterprises
