Triple Layer Carrot Cake

by brookefiore

It’s funny the way some things are such a habit of daily life. Say, turning on the light when you walk into the closet, or turning off the light when you leave the bathroom but no matter how many times you turn on the oven, it still fails to work when the power goes out. It was a cruel joke really, I knew the power was going to fail, Hurricane Sandy was barreling up the East Coast and the power lines were swinging like jump rope outside, but I knew that the browning bananas wouldn’t survive the storm. I had to quickly hide them in batter of flour, sugar, and egg and make a loaf for the impending storm. The timer was set for forty minutes and Sandy was still somewhere off the coast of North Carolina. When the weatherman said this was a big storm I guess I had refused to listen. It was so big that Sandy knocked our power out twenty minutes before the bread was done. The house smelled of banana heaven but the gooey loaf was far from complete. My time in the kitchen had been brought to a halt.

 Ah yes, the Colonial Era has ceased and we are back to modern day living and most importantly baking. After brushing the dust the off of my apron I geared up for another baking adventure. It may have been only six days since I was last able to utilize my oven but I was certainly feeling like I was missing something in my life.

I must preface this by saying that this cake is by no means healthy. It may contain three cups of carrot but that’s where the good nutrition begins and ends. I chose to omit the crushed pineapple and added the chopped walnuts atop the cake rather than baking them in.

I found the recipe in my favorite dessert cook book of all time, Sweets to the Sweet. With quirky little quotes and nostalgic illustrations the book feels like a snapshot of your Grandmother’s kitchen. I have yet to try a recipe from this book that I haven’t loved. This recipe had me at “towering triple layer.”

But on another positive note, early November sunsets are some of the most beautiful, especially when a storm creates a new viewing place.