megan hitz: my great grandmother rose's famous carrot cake

happy easter!

spring is here! our cold, brown, wintery city is washed clean with spring rain and warmed by glimpses of springtime sun. flowers are starting to bloom and trees are sprouting green overnight. i love the seasons, especially those short, but magical, few transitional days when one finally slips into another.

growing up on a farm, seasons, especially spring and summer, meant lots of work and many, many hours spent outdoors in the dirt. my family is practically made of hard work and we all somehow ended up with at least one extremely green thumb. from my earliest days, at the close of winter, i remember listening to my dad discuss new seed varieties, ground preparation and planting schedules. and my mom, a master gardner, would begin planning her acre plot of "garden" which included a vast array of vegetables, flowers, berries, herbs and tubers.

ever since moving to the city, i have itched for a garden full of fresh things. while, it will certainly never be like home, i am blessed with a little plot of dirt in our private courtyard behind our apartment. for the past few years, i have dabbled with herbs, a few potted flowers and even tried to coax a tomato plant or two. this year, after many pleadings for our outdoor space to be spruced up, our landlord offered me a bundle of cash and the opportunity to buy, plant and maintain our little slice of green. needless to say, my trowel and spade were in hand before the ground had thawed!

this week, me and my roommates ventured to brooklyn, loaded a gypsy-cab full of plants and high-tailed it back to the city. i enjoyed an afternoon of shoveling, side-stepping our toads and soaking in that wonderful wet-earth smell. it might not be my dad's sprawl of farm land or my mom's eden-of-a-garden, but getting dirty and helping our spring be a little more full of life was all this green-thumb needed.

in the spirit of spring and the hope of easter, i am sharing a bit of a family secret with you. i give you my great grandmother rose's carrot cake! it may be one of the best cake recipes in my possession (no, really) and i make it even better by topping it with a perfect cream cheese frosting. also, i recently discovered candied carrot shavings as the perfect garnish. i hope it brings a bit of my family garden to your easter feast!

carrot cake

3 eggs

2 cup sugar

1 cup vegetable/canola oil

2 tsp soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

3 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 small can of crushed pineapple (& juice)

2 cups grated carrots

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

1 cup raisins (optional)

1 cup coconut

* cream eggs, sugar & oil together well. add vanilla. blend well.

* add dry ingredients mix in (do not over mix).

* stir in remaining items.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. test center of cake. dont over bake...edges should be starting to pull away from pan edge. edges turn golden brown.

cream cheese frosting

8 oz cream cheese -softened

1/4 cup butter -room temp

16 oz (or one small box) of confectioner sugar

lemon zest and a drop of lemon juice to taste.

whip together for 2-5 minutes. frost cooled cake.

candied carrot garnish

1 cup grated carrots

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup granulated sugar for coating

for the garnish, stir 3/4 cup sugar and 3/4 cup water in a heavy saucepan over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 2 minutes. add grated carrots and simmer 4 minutes. put remaining sugar in a bowl. remove carrots from syrup with a slotted spoon and toss in sugar to coat. toss occasionally as they cool. separate on wax paper and refrigerate until ready to use. garnish frosted cake. enjoy!