Towering Praline Carrot Cake With Candied Pecans Recipes

Steps:

• Grease and lightly flour three 9 x 1 1/2-inch round baking pans; set aside.
• In a covered medium saucepan cook carrots in a moderate amount of boiling water about 20 minutes or until very tender; drain.
• Cool carrots slightly. Coarsely mash with a potato masher.
• In a very large bowl stir together flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
• Make a well in center of flour mixture. Add vegetable oil, eggs, pineapple and vanilla extract. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until all ingredients are combined. Fold in mashed carrots, pecans and coconut.
• Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.
• Bake in a preheated 350 degree F. oven 35 - 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean.
• Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool completely on racks. While layers are cooling, prepare cream cheese frosting.
• Cream Cheese Frosting:.
• Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add cream cheese and vanilla extract; beat until fluffy. Stir in chopped pecans.
• Use pecan halves for garnish if desired.
• Praline Sauce:.
• In small saucepan melt butter over medium heat. Stir in brown sugar and whipping cream. Bring to full boil, stirring constantly. Reduce heat.
• Boil gently 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in vanilla extract. Cool.
• To Assemble: Place one cake layer, top side up, on a cake plate. Using about 1 cup of the frosting, pipe or spoon a rim about 1 inch wide and 1/2 inch high around outer edge of layer.
• Spoon about 2 tablespoons frosting into center, leaving an unfrosted ring. Spread about half of the praline sauce into the unfrosted ring. Sauce will not fill ring.
• Add second cake, top side up. Repeat frosting and filling steps using another 1 cup of the frosting and remaining praline sauce.
• Add third cake layer, top side up. Frost top and side with remaining frosting. If desired, garnish with additional chopped pecans.
• Cover. Store in refrigerator.
• Let refrigerated cake stand, covered, at room temperature for 30 minutes.
• Or thaw frozen cake, covered, in refrigerator overnight. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Steps:

• In a medium saucepan cook carrots, covered, in a moderate amount of boiling water about 20 minutes or until vert tender. Drain. Cool slightly. Chop in a food processor using several on-off turns, or coarsely mash with potato msher (should have about 1 1/2 cups).
• Grease and lightly flour three 9x1 1/2-inch round cake pans; set aside. (If you only have two pans, prepare two layers and refrigerate remaining third of batter. When the first two are done baking and removed from pans, wash, grease, and lightly flour one pan; bake the remaining batter.)
• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• In a large mixing bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Make a well in center of dry ingredients.
• Add oil, eggs, pineapple, and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed about 1 minute until all ingredients are combined. Fold in mashed carrots, the 1 cup pecans, and the coconut. Spread batter evenly into prepared pans.
• Bake the layers for 35 to 40 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cakes in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Using a small spatula or table knife loosen edges and remove from pans. Bake remaining layer, if necessary. Cool cakes thoroughly on wire racks.
• While the cake is cooling, prepare Praline Sauce, Candied Pecans, and Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting.
• To assemble, place one of the cooled cake layers, top side up, on cake plate. Use about 1 cup of the Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting to pipe or spoon a rim about 1-inch wide and 1/2-inch high around outer edge of cake layer. Spoon about 2 tablespoons fromsting in the center leaving an unfrostined "ring".
• Spoon and spread about half of the Praline Sauce filling into the unfrosted ring (sauce will not fill ring).
• Add a second cake layer, top side up, and repeat frosting and filling steps using Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting and Praline Sauce.
• Add final cake layer, top side up. Frost top and sides of alyers with remaining frosting.
• Garnish top with Candied Pecans. Store cake in the refrigerator.