Cooking with Courtney Crave – March 2012

Courtney Crave by DallasPinUp.com
Courtney Crave by DallasPinUp.com

International Fetish Model, performer, event producer, and Texas Pin-Up Model of the Year 2011 (Hot Rods and Heels), Courtney Crave is amazing both to look at, and in the kitchen.  She is kind enough to share her favorite seasonal baking & cocktail recipes with Pin Curl Magazine monthly.  For more on Miss Crave, please visit her at GermanDreamGirl.com.

Carrot Cake (courtesy of Paula Deen)

March is here, which means it’s time to celebrate… wait… what all could we celebrate in March? St. Patrick’s Day? First Day of Spring? Daylight Savings Time? Dr. Suess’s Birthday? My birthday!  Now typically every year on my birthday I have a “death by chocolate” like espresso cake, but I’ve given you that recipe before.  Lately, I’ve been on a carrot cake kick.  And carrots sort of welcome spring because of bunnies and Easter, right?  What?  Easter is in April this year?  Oh well.

carrott-cakeCake Ingredients

  • Butter (for cake pans)
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour (plus a little more for the cake pans)
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 eggs (I use egg substitute)
  • 1 1/2 cups olive oil
  • 3 cups grated carrots
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, optional

Frosting Ingredients

  • 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese (room temperature)
  • 1 stick salted butter (room temperature)
  • 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Take three 9-inch round cake pans and grease and flour them.  Line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper.  In a large bowl, combine together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.  Then add the olive oil and eggs (or egg substitute) and blend until well combined with a hand mixer.  Lastly, add the grated carrots and pecans.  Pour the mixture into the 3 pans and bake for about 40 minutes.  Remove the cakes from the oven and let them cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pans.  Place the cakes on wax paper and let them cool completely before frosting.  While the cakes are cooling, take a medium bowl and all the frosting ingredients (except pecans) and beat with a hand mixer until fluffy.  Stir in the pecans.  Spread the frosting on each layer and stack on top of each other on a serving plate, and then frost the sides.  Now who’s making me this for my birthday?

lavender-martiniLavender Martini

Another one of my favorite cocktails, the lavender martini is perfect for celebrating my birthday.  Or the first day of spring with its refreshing floral taste.  Or Dr. Suess’s birthday with its quirky purple color.  Or St. Patrick’s Day if you’re color blind and think purple looks like green.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ ounces vanilla flavored vodka
  • 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 ounce lavender syrup (sometimes I add a little more, to boost the flavor a bit)
  • Lavender sugar

Directions

  • Use some of the lemon rind from your fresh squeezed lemon juice to moisten the rim of your martini glass, and then dip the rim of the glass in lavender sugar.  Fill your cocktail shaker with ice and add the vodka, lemon juice, and syrup.  Pretend you’re a mixologist at some super swanky cocktail bar in Paris or New York and shake, shake, shake!  Strain the mixture into the martini glass and garnish with a swirl of lemon rind. I’ll take 5 please.

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