Carrot Cake

Purging fat from baked goods is always difficult because fat performs several functions in a recipe.Fat makes baked goods tender by coating the proteins in flour and preventing them from joining together to form tough strands of gluten. Fat contributes to moistness and, when creamed with sugar, helps lighten and aerate the batter. And, as any expert baker can tell you, fat carries flavor.Fruit puree can stand in for fat largely because the pectin and other soluble fibers it contains can also coat flour proteins.

Wedding date: April 27, 2013 Her story: Allison Pachilis, 24, grew up in Baltimore. She is a graphic designer. Her mother, Debra Kiser, is an administrative assistant and her father, Earl Pachilis, is an IT consultant. His story: Samuel (Sam) Draper, 28, grew up in Frederick. He is a lawyer. His mother, Laurie Draper, is a nurse and his father, James Draper, is an accountant. Their story: Allison and Sam met through mutual friends and began dating in June 2011.

Want to begin 1993 with some good old stick-to-the-ribs food How about chicken corn soup and a carrot cake?Ruth J. Smith of Towson wrote, "I have eaten many delicious bowls of chicken corn soup in the Pennsylvania Dutch country but I cannot find a recipe for it. I live in a retirement center and would share the recipe with about 300 other people."And, Mrs. Charles R. Teague of Baltimore yearned for carrot cake.Chef Syglowski of the Baltimore International Culinary College, who tests the recipes sent in as responses to requests, chose a chicken corn soup recipe sent in by Debbie Weetenkamp of Baltimore and a carrot cake recipe from Libby Hopkins of Annapolis.

Wedding date: March 9, 2013 Her story: Julie Zuramski, 34, grew up in Lutherville. She works in sales at National Envelope. Her father, Joseph, is retired from sales, and her mother, Josephine, is a real estate agent for Long & Foster. His story: Matthew Shevlin, 38, grew up in Oreland, Pa. He is an employee benefits consultant for Engle-Hambright & Davies in Philadelphia. His father, Joseph, is a vice president for the Eastern region of AMG Resources and his mother, Kathleen, is a teacher.

The EmbersWhere: 24th Street and Coastal Highway, Ocean CityHours: Dinner, 3:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily; breakfast, 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.Credit cards: Accepts all major credit cardsIt was a peaceful midweek evening when my friend and I decided to have dinner at the Embers, one of Ocean City's long-standing restaurants.We were seated in a dining room that simulated a garden porch with wrought-iron grille trims and a lush green carpet.We started with the Maryland crab soup ($2.95), which came packed with vegetables.

Lisl Christie from Santa Rosa, Calif., was looking for a recipe for a carrot cake that she has lost that used to be printed on a sugar package. Ruth Bly from Winchester, Va., sent in a recipe that was given to her by a friend that she says she has been using for over 30 years. While the recipe may not be the exact one that Christie was in search of, Bly says everyone seems to enjoy this cake very much. Her recipe is for a simple, old-fashioned one-bowl cake. Now that you can buy packaged grated carrots in most grocery stores, you can whip this homemade goodie up in under 10 minutes.

Wedding date: April 27, 2013 Her story: Allison Pachilis, 24, grew up in Baltimore. She is a graphic designer. Her mother, Debra Kiser, is an administrative assistant and her father, Earl Pachilis, is an IT consultant. His story: Samuel (Sam) Draper, 28, grew up in Frederick. He is a lawyer. His mother, Laurie Draper, is a nurse and his father, James Draper, is an accountant. Their story: Allison and Sam met through mutual friends and began dating in June 2011.

There was a time in my past when a simple phone message -- "carrot cake today" -- would send me scurrying out of the office, headed for a rendezvous with the dessert at the now defunct Buttercup Tea Room restaurant in Annapolis. Since then, my carrot cake fervor has faded. But the other day, as I drove 60 miles scooping up slices of carrot cake from three different locations, some of the old ardor returned. Chicken Out Address --6270 Columbia Crossing Circle, Columbia Phone --410-872-8600 Hours --11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday A half-pound slice of towering carrot cake with six layers was $4.29.

"It would be nice if the guys in the pits occasionally surprised me with a piece of carrot cake or something." David Letterman From the Top 10 List of Things Never Said by a NASCAR Driver "We got our tails whipped." Tim Duckworth Auburn guard, after his team beat LSU [ From wire and Web reports]

Acknowledging that half of all home bread makers are men, Black & Decker has announced a bread recipe contest just for the guys. The six regional winners, each of whom gets $500 in cash and a deluxe bread-making machine, will be flown to New York in May for the final judging. Grand prize is an all-expense trip to Paris, including a bread-making course at the Cordon Bleu cooking school. The winner will be decided by a panel of female judges.Male bakers are invited to submit recipes in three categories: healthiest, most exotic and dessert breads by April 30. For an entry blank, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Real Men Bake Bread Contest, PO Box 4320, Manhasset, N.Y. 11030-4320.

When most people think about Creamsicles, they probably picture the fruity frozen dessert. Monica Williams, however, envisioned a cookie. Williams, who owns the baking operation From Momma's Kitchen, has made a second career out of concocting decadent desserts. The 43-year-old former principal of Celebration Christian Academy in Columbia has been experimenting with cookies ever since she started baking at just 8 years old in her mom's kitchen in Philadelphia. “I added M&M's to the first batch of chocolate chip cookies I made,” she remembers.

Mary Fitzsimmons from Crossville, Tenn., was looking for a recipe she had lost for carrot cake in a loaf pan. She said that the recipe she had made two loaves and that it had a somewhat "spicier" taste than most carrot cake. Darlene Ross from Towson sent in a recipe she likes for making carrot-pecan bread. She thought that her recipe sounded similar to what Fitzsimmons was searching for. Her recipe produced a very hearty, dense bread that would be wonderful served with some cream cheese for breakfast or tea. It keeps well and with the recipe yielding two loaves you will likely have one you can freeze for later or give away.

Lisl Christie from Santa Rosa, Calif., was looking for a recipe for a carrot cake that she has lost that used to be printed on a sugar package. Ruth Bly from Winchester, Va., sent in a recipe that was given to her by a friend that she says she has been using for over 30 years. While the recipe may not be the exact one that Christie was in search of, Bly says everyone seems to enjoy this cake very much. Her recipe is for a simple, old-fashioned one-bowl cake. Now that you can buy packaged grated carrots in most grocery stores, you can whip this homemade goodie up in under 10 minutes.

There was a time in my past when a simple phone message -- "carrot cake today" -- would send me scurrying out of the office, headed for a rendezvous with the dessert at the now defunct Buttercup Tea Room restaurant in Annapolis. Since then, my carrot cake fervor has faded. But the other day, as I drove 60 miles scooping up slices of carrot cake from three different locations, some of the old ardor returned. Chicken Out Address --6270 Columbia Crossing Circle, Columbia Phone --410-872-8600 Hours --11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday A half-pound slice of towering carrot cake with six layers was $4.29.

"It would be nice if the guys in the pits occasionally surprised me with a piece of carrot cake or something." David Letterman From the Top 10 List of Things Never Said by a NASCAR Driver "We got our tails whipped." Tim Duckworth Auburn guard, after his team beat LSU [ From wire and Web reports]

Because I am on a restricted diet, can you provide me with a low-fat recipe for a pastry crust? You're not alone in your quest for a low-fat crust, but a good one is hard to find. "There is no successful low-fat recipe," said Barbara Farner, extension educator in nutrition and wellness at the University of Illinois Extension. "Crisp roll-out cookies and piecrusts are two dishes without successful low-fat alternatives." Farner offered these suggestions for those on restricted diets: Select an oil-based piecrust recipe that uses the more healthful canola or olive oil. Such recipes would contain the same amount of fat, but they would contain less saturated fat. Switch to a graham-cracker crust, which requires less fat than that found in a traditional pastry crust.

Wedding date: March 9, 2013 Her story: Julie Zuramski, 34, grew up in Lutherville. She works in sales at National Envelope. Her father, Joseph, is retired from sales, and her mother, Josephine, is a real estate agent for Long & Foster. His story: Matthew Shevlin, 38, grew up in Oreland, Pa. He is an employee benefits consultant for Engle-Hambright & Davies in Philadelphia. His father, Joseph, is a vice president for the Eastern region of AMG Resources and his mother, Kathleen, is a teacher.

Item: Sara Lee Bites What you get: 10 single-serving bites Cost: About $4.50 Nutritional content: Carrot Cake - 80 calories, 5 grams fat, 3.5 grams saturated fat, 35 milligrams sodium, 7 grams carbohydrate, 5 grams sugars; Triple Chocolate Fudge - 90 calories, 4 grams fat, 2 grams saturated fat, 12 grams carbohydrate, 8 grams sugars Preparation time: Open and eat Review: Can you get satisfaction from just one bite of cake? I never answered yes until I tried Sara Lee Bites. These petit-four-style cakes are sweet and satisfying.

The Montebello Deli & Cafe is a small oasis of urban civility along a busy stretch of Harford Road. Outside, the deli has a few chairs for sidewalk eating nestled among flower boxes filled with impatiens. Inside, bleached-wood floors and a tin ceiling give the space a warm but up-to-date feel. There are plenty of magazines and newspapers, and a computer is available in one corner (although there is a charge for using it). On a recent visit, the television was tuned to CNN and the radio was playing WYPR - news junky heaven.

It's a little tricky to pry apart the components of Jay's Restaurant Group in the 1300 block of N. Charles St. There's the Viccino Bistro; Jay's Deli; and Viccino, Jay's Italian Gourmet, a carryout place that offers food from Viccino and from Jay's. Is your head spinning yet? To keep things simple, we stuck to carryout, remembering a good Viccino pizza a while back. We ordered early on a Friday evening, and the kitchen, visible from the small, standing-room-only waiting space, was hopping with line cooks cracking jokes and making calzones.