Purple Carrot Cake

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn't go and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves.

English poet Jenny Joseph penned these words in 1961 at the age of 29. The poem is beloved by millions for its lighthearted look into growing old.

For many years I have referred to myself as an old woman, while secretly not considering myself old. I always considered old as being closer in age to seventy than sixty. I crossed that line yesterday, my 66th birthday.

I am now officially, old. But I still won't wear purple. The only way I'll be wearing purple, is if I am in a rest home and they dress me in another old woman's clothes.

I don't dislike purple. I just don't recall ever seeing a purple garment that I just had to have. As I get older I may be drawn to purple blouses and bathrobes, but for now I am just into purple food. For Chanukah I made latkes with purple potatoes from the natural food co-op. Last week's box from the Winter Vegetable CSA included a bunch of purple carrots.

I wanted to do something special with those beautiful jewels, so yesterday I made a Purple Carrot Cake for my birthday! It was the perfect way to celebrate making it to "old" and entering the purple phase of my life.

I made a regular carrot cake but used purple carrots in place of orange. I also added a little purple food coloring gel to boost the purple.

I added pineapple, pecans, raisins, and coconut to the cake and covered it in cream cheese frosting. I made the purple carrot decorations with purple and green tinted buttercream frosting. After baking, the cake took on a bit of a red tint, but it was still very pretty. The cream cheese frosting was especially good.

Of course, you can use orange carrots and omit the buttercream decorations. If you are celebrating being an old woman, go for the purple! Here's the recipe.

Purple Carrot Cake

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Ingredients

• ▢ For the cake:
• ▢ 2 cups sugar
• ▢ 1 ⅓ cups vegetable oil
• ▢ 3 extra-large eggs
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking soda
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• ▢ 1 cup raisins
• ▢ 1 8 ounce can crushed pineapple, drained well
• ▢ ½ cup angel flake coconut
• ▢ 1 cup chopped pecans (divided)
• ▢ 1 pound carrots (grated)
• ▢ Purple food coloring
• ▢ For the frosting:
• ▢ 2 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
• ▢ 2 sticks unsalted butter (softened)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• ▢ For the buttercream frosting:
• ▢ ½ cup butter (1 stick, softened)
• ▢ 1 ½ - 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• ▢ 1-2 tablespoons milk (heavy cream, or half-and-half)

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Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Spray 2 (8-inch) round cake pans with baking spray. Line with parchment paper.
• For the cake:
• Beat the sugar, oil, and eggs together in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the vanilla. In a medium bowl mix together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Whisk well.
• With the mixer on low-speed, gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. By hand fold in the raisins, pineapple, coconut, and half of the pecans. Gently fold in the carrots until well incorporated.Stir in a couple drops of purple food coloring if desired.
• Divide the batter equally between the 2 prepared pans. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool completely, still in the pans on a wire rack.
• For the frosting:
• Mix the cream cheese, butter and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer until just combined. Gradually add the confectioner's sugar and mix until creamy and smooth.
• Remove the completely cooled cakes from the pans and peel the parchment paper off. Place 1 layer with the flat side up, plate or cake pedestal. Place small stops of waxed paper under the edge to keep the plate clean. Using an offset spatula, spread the top with frosting just to the edges. Place the second layer on top, flat side up. Using a pastry bag filled with cream cheese frosting, fill in the space between the layers. Ice the sides of the cake with frosting and pat finely chopped nuts on the sides. Spread frosting on the top of the cake. Use a star tip to decorate the bottom and top edges.
• Place softened butter into the bowl of an electric mixer. Turn the mixer on a medium setting and cream the butter until it is smooth. Add the confectioner's sugar, ½ cup at a time, turning the mixer onto the highest speed setting after each addition. Add milk, heavy cream or half-and-half until the frosting has reached the preferred consistency. For a firmer frosting, add more confectioner's sugar, ¼ cup at a time. For a softer frosting, add more milk or cream, a tablespoon at a time. Divide the frosting into two bowls, ⅔ in one bowl and the rest in the other. Using gel food coloring tint the larger amount of frosting purple and the other green. Make carrot shapes from the purple and green buttercream icing using a round tip and a leaf tip. Practice on wax paper before trying this on your cake.
• Serve cake at room temperature for best consistency.

When I am on old woman I will make purple carrot cake for my birthday!

Need more purple in your life? Try my Purple Potato Latkes.