Vintage Mondays - Mystery Carrot Cake

Once again I lost all of my favorite links. It´s fair to say it´s the third time it happens. Or fourth. You know that once is bad luck, twice is stupidity, I wonder what the name for four is. Now, I finally devised a way to back them up. So all my favorite blogs gone, I´m starting all over again.
The silver lining is that each time it happens, it´s like spring cleaning my blog roll. Like most of us, because I know I´m not alone here, the favorites folder evolved into so many sub-folders that it was quite impossible to even know which ones were there anymore. 

Being at the right place at the right time, with a camera of course. Take a look at these pics.

This can very well be me on a plane. Especially the last quote.

Do you want to know what the bar code for your name is? Or any other name? Like you have nothing better to do on a monday, I know.

Have a few empty paint cans and are about to throw them out? If you´re into do-it-yourself home improvement projects, which really is not my thing, this idea might come in handy.

Now let´s talk about serious stuff. All last week there were posts everywhere talking about ways to help those affected by the now famous for all the wrong reasons Sandy.

Under the hashtag #WeCare my friends Liz, Lora and Dennis, among others, have joined their voices in the hope that it will help spread the word about where to help.

Since natural tragedies affect the whole planet all the time, I think the idea is to help whatever is happening near your home. Even if you live oceans from where the hurricane passed, chances are there´s someone close by who needs your help. So let´s care year round and make life easier for those who need it now. Someday it might be us.

When it comes to gifts from the kitchen it´s hard to beat the ideas that were thrown on yesterday´s Sunday Supper table. The list of recipes is amazing. You can find anything from homemade Kahlua to Cherry and Vanilla extract, or goodies in a jar such as pancakes, soups and cookies and even bread. It´s a good idea to check the rest of the list because you´re bound to find the gift you were looking for.

The vintage recipe today makes use of the sauce I made yesterday. Do you remember the famous chocolate mayonnaise cake? I used to make it all the time when I was a teenager. It gets points for simplicity, since you don´t use butter or oil. Guess what the mystery ingredient is here? It makes such a moist and yummy cake. Another good one to file.

MYSTERY CARROT CAKE

adapted from a Hellmann´s ad, circa 1981

Note: the apricot pineapple sauce can be substituted by same amount of crushed pineapple.

For cake:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon salt

3 eggs

1 ½ cups sugar

¾ cup mayonnaise

¾ cups apricot pineapple sauce

2 cups coarsely grated carrots

1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Cream cheese frosting:

½ cup unsalted butter, room tº

1 cup cream cheese, room tº

1 cup powdered sugar

1 Tbs rum

Sliced toasted almonds, to garnish

For cake: Preheat oven to 350ºF / 180ºC. Butter or spray a 9-inch round cake pan.

Sift flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt and reserve.

In a large bowl beat eggs, sugar, mayonnaise and apricot sauce until a bit fluffy, about 2 mintues. Add sifter dry ingredients and mix just to combine.

Add carrots and walnuts with a spatula. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack.

Spread the top with cream cheese frosting and garnish with sliced almonds.

For frosting: In a medium bowl mix all ingredients with electric mixer until very smooth.