Mango Carrot Cake

Do you like carrot cake? Do you like mangoes? Then you should definitely try this carrot mango cake recipe! I ran across it when I was reading my copy of Better Homes & Garden and knew immediately that I would need to make it for my mother-in-law for her birthday.  Here's how to make the cake!

What You Need:

• 2cups all-purpose flour
• 1tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2teaspoon salt
• 1/4teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2cup butter, softened
• 1cup granulated sugar
• 2eggs
• 1 1/4cups refrigerated mango juice blend (such as Odwalla Mango Tango or Naked Juice Mighty Mango)
• 3cups finely shredded carrot
• Carrot ribbons*
• Cream Cheese Frosting
• 18 ounce packagecream cheese, softened
• 1/4cup butter, softened
• 1teaspoon vanilla
• 4cups powdered sugar

How to Make the Cake:

directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 8x1 1/2-inch round cake pan; set aside. In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg; set aside.

2.In a large mixing bowl beat butter on medium-high speed for 30 seconds. Gradually add granulated sugar; beat until combined. Beat 2 minutes more. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and 3/4 cup of the mango juice; beat on low after each addition just until combined. Stir in shredded carrot. Pour into prepared pan.

3.Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden and a wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely. Place remaining 1/2 cup mango juice blend in a small saucepan; bring to boiling. Boil gently, uncovered, 3 to 4 minutes or until reduced to 1/4 cup. Remove from heat; cool. Frost top of one cake layer with Cream Cheese Frosting. Top with remaining cake layer; frost as desired. Drizzle with reduced juice; top with carrot ribbons.

Frosting:

4.In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese and 1/4 cup butter until smooth. Beat in vanilla. Gradually beat in powdered sugar.

Once you've made your cake make sure to serve it quickly! The frosting will melt pretty quickly!

Serve and enjoy!

The original recipe can be found here: Better Homes & Gardens

Repeating Traditions - Strawberry Picking

Hey All! So this week has turned out to be pretty slow and I am quite alright with that.  I always find myself super busy and wishing for down time but when I have down time, I am always wishing I had something to do.  Guess I just cannot make up my mind.

Last weekend Justin and I spent some time celebrating birthdays and bridal showers with our friends and family.  My friend Sarah celebrated turning 24 in style by going out dancing.  There was supposed to be a large group of people going but because of last minute things only a few of the ladies made it out.  Either way, it was still a nice evening.  

On Saturday, Justin and I spent the morning running some much needed errands before we went to meet his parents for Strawberry Picking.  This is a tradition that we started last year with his family as a way to celebrate his mom's birthday and it is quickly becoming one of my favorite non-holiday traditions.

The weather here in Michigan has been rather warm that last few weeks, so of course the weather was wonderful for picking strawberries.  Like last year, we made our way out to Spicer's Orchard in Fenton, MI.  But unlike last year, the strawberries were MUCH larger.  

 

When we got to the orchard, we all grabbed our "buckets" for the strawberries and hopped onto the hayride to get to the strawberry patch.  My nephew, J.P., was super excited once we got on, but once the tractor started moving he started to get a bit nervous and grabbed onto Justin and I.  He is such a sweetheart.

Once we got the patch, everyone went their separate ways to try and find the biggest berries and we all had some pretty good luck finding some delicious ones.  On more than one occasion I caught JP eating some fresh picked strawberries and he made sure to get them ALL over his new white t-shirt.  How can you be mad at him, though, when he is being so adorable. 

After picking the strawberries, we made our way back to the shop to buy all of the strawberries and to get some cider and donuts.  I know that cider and donuts are more of a fall tradition, but since Justin and I never made it out to the orchard, we saw fit to grab a dozen donuts and they were delicious! Plus, while we were in there, Justin got some cuddle time with our niece, McKenna.  Isn't she just the cutest little thing?

 

And we managed to grab a family shot like the one we took last year.  Hard to believe that this time last year, my niece was not born yet.  It's crazy how much change can happen in a year.

After we were all set to go, we headed back to my sister and brother-in-law's house for pizza and presents (I made a cake but due to the heat, it had to be left behind).  I made a mango carrot cake that turned out pretty good! I will make sure to share the recipe on another post.

Overall the day was pretty exciting and I cannot wait to repeat the tradition next year!

Happy Birthday Marcy!

Bachelorette Party & Comedy Club

June has been a very exciting month for Justin and I this far.  Between the baby showers, graduation parties and birthdays we have been very busy almost every.single.weekend.  

A few weekends ago, Danielle and I had made plans to go up north and visit her parents and get away from all the chaos that is our lives, but something came up last minute and we were not able to go.  Instead, we went to a bridal shower/bachelorette party for her sister!

The plan was to go to downtown Royal Oak and eat some delicious dinner at Monterrey Cantina then head to a comedy show and that is exactly what we did! Dinner was absolutely delicious! Danielle and I split some chicken flautas with rice and beans that were to die for.  I wish I had grabbed a picture of them, but they were gone so quickly that I completely forgot.

During dinner, this guy walked up to the table and was trying to find someone to take him as their date to the wedding.  He was pretty hilarious, but he did NOT have any takers.  Better luck next time dude.

 My favorite thing at the party was the candy {penis} bouquet that Danielle's sister received as a gift.  Typically I am not the hugest fan of penis anything shaped, but I could not help but laugh when we figured out that they had little eyes on them.  Is that weird or what? 

 After dinner we made our way to Mark Ridley's Comedy Castle for the main event of the evening.  When we walked in, I realized that I had been there before for a different bachelorette party: my sister-in-laws! What a small world that we would go to the same place as my sister-in-law did five years ago.

Interesting fact about this picture? My Facebook tried to make me tag the guy in the background...

Sorry the pictures are so blurry, but we were sitting in the back and my camera is not too fond of zooming in when it's dark.  There were two main comedians that evening: Jodi White and Dave Bell and let me tell you I have not laughed that hard in a long time.  The best way to describe how hard I laughed is to tell you that my neck muscles were spasming from laughing so hard.   If you ever have a chance to see either of them live, I recommend that you take the opportunity, they're both hilarious!

The evening concluded with Danielle and I making a run to get frozen yogurt and walking around downtown Royal Oak.  Because Michigan has some of the most finicky weather in the planet, I always try to take advantage of the beautiful weather and get outside while it is here.  

Overall, the evening was a blast and I would love to do it again! Maybe I could make it a date night!