There once was a place in Atlanta that we all loved. Oh, my what a wonderful place this was….These ladies where ahead of their time. There would be a line out the door most every night. On weekends this line would be long and folks would que up until closing which would be late. They offered only desserts and what a treat it was too. I loved this place some times me and Mr. Fixit would skip dinner and go here with friends. See back in those days it was rather expensive for the young crowd to enjoy. It was worth every penny! See this was back in the 80’s. She had a huge black board with all the days offerings. She had exposed brick with a rustic charm of today way back then!! They had amazing coffee when it wasn’t even trendy yet! This wonderful place was called the “The Dessert Place”.
I never knew they had a cookbook ~ GOSH how did that happen? Several years ago I was able to land the book at twice the price on the secondary market. I would have paid anything for it. REALLY…..I would have. See it was such an amazing place. If I were to open a place I would model it after this great place. Okay okay….why all the info, well this recipe is from this place. YEP
Carrot Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon ~ No this is not a mistake
4 large eggs, room temp
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 pound peeled and grated carrots
Preheat oven to 350. Line/butter 2-8 inch baking pans with parchment paper.{next time I would use three cake pans ~ why this is so dense of a cake I think for home use it would turn out better}. Set Aside.
Using an electric mixer, combine all of the dry ingredients. Add eggs one at the time, and mix well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add oil mixing well on a medium speed. Add carrots and mix on low until all is well blended.
Pour batter into the cake pans. Bake in center rack of oven for 35-40 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean. Let the layers cool completely before removing from the pans. Then frost cake.
Cream Cheese Icing
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup pecans
Using an electric mixer on a medium speed cream the cream cheese and butter for 5 minutes until light and creamy. Add sugar and vanilla mixing until light and fluffy. Using a spatula scrape down sides of bowl. Stir in pecan pieces. To ensure the proper consistency, refrigerate for about 30 minutes then frost cake.
I did not add the pecans to my icing ~ Why 2 reasons makes very hard to ice the cake. Two this cake was for Mr. Fixit’s birthday and this is the way he wanted it. I placed the nuts in between the layers. So…there ya go…I added a little more butter so it would not be too sweet per his request. We love the icing recipe on the banana cake recipe I have posted some time ago…it is under cakes. If you are interested…this one cannot be beat! It is the BEST!
Happy Birthday Dear….love you!
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Smiles….
Angie
Is there vanilla in the cake mixture?
@Lois …..In the cake recipe it does not call for it, but in the icing it calls for 2 teaspoons. I hope you enjoy ! I am sure you can add it to the cake, most of the time I go ahead and add it, but since this was such a famous place wanted to print just as I was given. Smiles and happy baking, Angie
Okay Angie! My husband Brad and I were just fondly recalling our times at “The Dessert Place” and … hoping if we googled it that it would have miraculously …. Somehow with neither of us having heard about it … reopened! But instead up pop’s your post and reference to a Mr Fixit that I see every day! Love your post and recipes (and your Mr. Fixit!).
Liz, Thanks for your kind words. Oh, how we miss this wonderful little slice of heaven sure wish they would reopen. Would be a dream. Think I need to get busy and make another old favorite from that book and post another one…thanks for the inspiration! Smiles…Angie
During my many visits to Atlanta in the 80’s I never missed going there, especially after those late dinners. What was the book titled? I would love to find a copy. The carrot cake was my go-to pick.
Dominic, The book is titled Stressed is just Dessert spelled backwards a Collection of great American Desserts, By Sheryl Meddin and Bennett Frisch. I found it on line from a third party source. I wish you luck finding it…I looked for over a year. It is printed by Longstreet Press in Atlanta, Georgia. I will also look to see if I can find it for you. If I come across it will let you know…I think I paid $40.00 for mine…not cheap but oh so worth it. It did go for 16.95 originally..just FYI hope this helps, Angie PS…just looked on line there is a copy for .01 one cent on amazon….buy it!! Angie
Do you have the amazing Cream Cheese Brownie recipe from The Dessert Place?
I do not….but, I hear they are going to have an online store which you will be able to purchase these goodies here shortly…more info to follow!