Recipe: Happy Easter!

Easter is a wonderful holiday.  Not only is it one of the remaining times of the year where everything is closed, but it heralds Spring.  Yes, Spring is technically already here, but it is never really warm until after Easter.
The food is also wonderful: ham, scalloped potatoes, eggs for brunch, chocolate and Carrot Cake!  I adore carrot cake.  I love that it can be a humble tea loaf or an extravagant tiered cake.
Even though we have no plans for the holiday in this new city, I decided it wouldn't be right without some carrot cake.  With Orange Cream Cheese frosting of course!  If I could eat the frosting all by itself, I would....so yummy.

Lemon Zest would work just as well, however the Tangelos were on sale and
are wonderful to eat after the zest is removed.

Tea loaf for a Sunday afternoon.

Carrot Cake Loaf with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting


3/4 cup               unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups          flour
1/2 cup               walnuts or pecans, toasted
1 1/4-1/2cups     grated carrots (about 2 medium carrots or 11/2 large)
1/2 cup               shredded coconut
2                         eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup               buttermilk
1 tsp                   vanilla
1 cup                  sugar
1 tsp                   baking powder
1/2 tsp                baking soda
1/2 tsp                salt
1 tsp                   cinnamon
1 tsp                   ginger

Preheat oven 325*  and grease a 9x5 loaf pan.  In a medium bowl, stir together carrots, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, sugar and coconut until well combined.
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.  Fold dry mixture into wet until combined.  Fold in melted butter and nuts.
Bake approximately 1 hour 15minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.  Cool in pan 15 to 20 minutes.  Turn out and cool completely before frosting.

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 brick of cream cheese
1 cup sifted icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla
pinch salt
grated orange rind ( I chopped mine finely so it would be a speckle in the frosting)

Cream together butter and cream cheese until soft and no lumps remain.  Add vanilla, salt and zest.  Stir in icing sugar until combined.  If a stiffer frosting is desired, add another 1/4 cup of icing sugar.

Enjoy and Happy Easter!