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Hello again, friend.
How are you holding up during these heat waves? The end of Summer has her nails dug into us as she refuses to leave and I’ll be honest, I feel like I am melting. So, I traded the balmy breeze of the beach for the scorching heat of where the Mohave and Sonoran deserts meet and even though it is WAY hotter here, my body is enjoying how dry it is…your girl hates the humidity!
The end of August always was an exciting time for me growing up. It brought celebrations for my mom’s birthday, camping at the Colorado River, shopping for new clothes and the start of a new school year. As an adult spending this time with my mom to close out the summer I appreciate it a little differently now; I am noticing the subtle ways summer is saying goodbye, being grateful I DON”T have to go back to school and enjoying her air conditioning.
I hope at least once in your life, you get to experience sunrise and sunset in the desert. They are both so spectacular and special to me. I often just sit in silence, fresh cup of coffee in hand, watching as the day blossoms before me. It’s my favorite part of the day; a moment just for me, a secret shared between the saguaros and I.
Sunset in the desert is filled with the most beautiful and vibrant colors. I am often stopped in my tracks when the golden hour hits. I am so inspired by the way the living painting evolves and culminates into a masterpiece. If only the photos did it justice…
Speaking of inspiration…because autumn is soo close, I decided to make my mom our favorite carrot cake for her birthday. It’s the perfect balance of summer and fall flavors. It’s a Paula Deen recipe that I tweaked here and there to my taste and I think you’ll love it too.
Ingredients
2 cups ap flour ( plus more for pans )
1 cups sugar ( plus 1 tbsp extra for pecans )
¾ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon ( plus 1 tsp for pecans )
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 cup melted butter plus a little extra for greasing pans
½ cup Unsweetened apple sauce
3 cups grated carrots
2 8 oz packages room temperature cream cheese
1 stick room temperature salted butter
1 16 oz box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract ( measure with your heart )
2 cups chopped pecans
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease your pan(s) with extra oil and then flour to keep the cake from sticking. You can use two 9-inch pans or one 9×13.
Sift or whisk together your dry ingredients ( flour, sugars, baking soda, cinnamon and salt ). To the same bowl add eggs, melted butter and grated carrots.
Pour batter into your prepared pan(s) and bake for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees. If you are using the 9×13 pan, start checking around the 35 minute mark. You may need to bake a bit more. A toothpick stuck in the center that comes out clean means you can pull the cake out to cool down.
Place your pecans in a bowl and toss with 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon and a small sprinkle of water to allow the sugar to stick, then place on a parchment paper lined tray, and into your oven for 5 minutes. Pull pecans out to stir and put back in for another 5 minutes. Repeat 1-2 more times being careful not to burn and allow them to cool completely once they are fragrant.
Allow your cream cheese and butter to come to room temp. Once at room temp, beat them together with the vanilla extract in a mixer until light and airy. Once that is fluffy, start adding in your powder sugar in small portions. Continue mixing until everything is cohesive.
Once your cake has cooled completely ( you can refrigerate overnight and frost the next day ), you can add your cream cheese frosting and garnish by sprinkling your candied pecans on top.
I hope you try this one out and enjoy it as much as we did! How are you ending your summer? Are you baking special treats? I would love to know.
Well, that’s all I’ve got for this week. I hope you have beautiful rest of your Sunday and a cooler 😉 week to come. I’ll have more stories of my time in Arizona for you when we meet back here…
Same time next week.
— Sara
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