Seeing is Believing

Eating carrots may not give you seamless 20/20 vision but eating carrot cake, I daresay, will have you seeing many other things. Now, I have no medical doctrine but I do dibble dabble in the arts of pastry and that alone makes me an expert in advising that the benefits of eating carrot cake far outnumber the benefits of not doing so. As I mentioned before, I don't typically eat anything that's not beneficial to my health. Aside from the crucial nutrients of Vitamin A and rich beta carotene, this treat was just what the doctor ordered. In Waxahachie, Texas, exists a place, 1879 Chisholm Grill, where you too can find that benefiting ailment. Can you visualize with me my fellow cake gurus...a Caramel Carrot cake? Ah...pure insanity! I so concur! Don't strain. You don't have to see it to believe it because I'm gonna alleviate any preliminary angst you might be having right about now. So, visualize this...alternating layers of caramel and cream cheese icing with hints of brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, walnuts and those perfectly shredded carrot pieces, the texture dense yet moist with an extreme undefined yearning for another forkful. Can you taste it? I hope so but if you can't, newbie Cake Enthusiast out of hiding and avid blog follower, 'Gaudy lady', can too attest to the splendid chance encounter. Seeing is believing but tasting...clearly a more delightful disposition.

A is for Apple

If Johnny Appleseed's plan was to get the nation hooked on apples, he would have been pleased to see I am hooked on Granny Smith’s Apple cake. This apple lover’s delight suggests the commencement of my favorite season of the year, autumn. Just like the leaves begin to fall during this magical term, so did my love for this lip-puckering cake. It's a dense, moist cake, sullied and amplified by baked apples and walnuts. Embellished with a crisp and sour sliced Granny Smith apple, it’s also one of the prettiest slices of cake I’ve seen. The mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and brown sugar sitting jubilantly over a pool of super gooey caramel completely set me into an orchard of joy! The mini pieces of caramelized baked apples nestled cozily into the batter and wallowed there happily, just begging to be eaten. For its plea, I showed great mercy and did just that; blessed are the merciful for they shall be rewarded with a copious harvest of cake! This impressive cake captivated my interest, not only because of its perpetual sweetness, but because it was perfected by an amazing chef who completed his internship at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary Arts Institute in Paris. The age-old adage, "An Apple A Day..." is being more and more clearly substantiated thanks to this breath taking slice of heaven. A is for apple but also for astonishing, admirable and absolutely divine!