Monday, March 30, 2015

pure & simple carrot cake

Pure and Simple Carrot Cake {recipe} // A Style Caddy

I'm probably in the minority, but I love, love, love carrot cake. It is my absolute favorite. But, as with a lot of other things in life, I am really picky about it. I think that a carrot cake shouldn't have anything else in it except for... carrots. I could completely do without the raisins and walnuts and coconut or whatever else it is that other recipes call for. I'm just looking for a simple carrot cake with a cream cheese frosting. It's actually really difficult to find what I love so I thought that since Easter is coming up, I would share with you my carrot cake recipe.

Ingredients: {cake recipe adapted from The Faux Martha}

Cake:
1 pound carrots, freshly grated
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups canola oil
1/3 cup skim milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 tbsp cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon sugar
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground allspice

Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 oz unsalted butter, room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, softened
about 4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Line cake pans with parchment paper and spray with non-stick baking spray.
2. Whisk together the carrots, eggs, sugar, canola oil, skim milk, and vanilla extract.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon sugar, nutmeg, and allspice. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir until well combined.
4. Pour the batter evenly into the cake pans and bake in an oven for 30-38 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. {I used six inch pans, but the time in the oven should be the same for an eight or nine inch pan.}
5. Allow the cakes to cool completely before icing.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1.  In the bowl of an electric mixer {or a large bowl with a hand mixer}, beat together the butter and cream cheese.
2. Add the powdered sugar a little bit at a time until smooth and creamy. Side note: one box of powdered sugar {usually one pound} is four cups of powdered sugar. I never use the full four cups because it makes frosting really sweet and I prefer mine not so sweet. I just eyeball it.
3. Beat in the vanilla extract.

Assemble and frost the cake. Since I made this cake for Easter, I added some mini Cadbury creme eggs.

For more Easter recipes, check out my last post!

Pure and Simple Carrot Cake {recipe} // A Style Caddy

Pure and Simple Carrot Cake {recipe} // A Style Caddy

Friday, March 27, 2015

five easter treats

I'll be sharing my own recipe for an Easter treat next week but wanted to let you know about some that I found. They range from the quick and easy to ones that may take just a bit more time. They're all fun and can probably be considered springtime treats, not just for the Easter holiday!

Five Easter Treats {Resurrection Rolls} // A Style Caddy
Resurrection Rolls {A great way to teach kids about the meaning of Easter!}

Five Easter Treats {Bunny Dirt Cups} // A Style Caddy

Five Easter Treats {Lemon Drizzle Cake} // A Style Caddy

Five Easter Treats {Mini Cheesecake Nests} // A Style Caddy

Five Easter Treats {Cadbury Creme Egg Brownies} // A Style Caddy

Yum, yum, yum! I made Cadbury Creme Egg Brownies last year and they were a hit so I highly suggest those. I love how super easy Resurrection Rolls are to make. And besides being cinnamon sugar deliciousness, it's a great way to get the kiddos involved and teach them about the story of Jesus' death and resurrection.

Don't forget to check back on Monday for another recipe just in time for Easter!

Have a great weekend!

Monday, March 23, 2015

morning musings

Monday Musings {image via Camille Styles Easter Brunch} // A Style Caddy
Image via Camille Styles

1. The Wisconsin Badgers basketball team had fun with the NCAA stenographer during their post-game interview. {And watch this fun little clip!}

2. This DIY decoupage floral box would be such a pretty way to store things.

3. I love Key Lime Pie and these key lime cheesecake sugar cookie cups looks delicious!

4. The prettiest and possibly easiest way to decorate your Easter eggs. I might do it this year!

5. I saw Insurgent this weekend and was, sadly, not as impressed as I wanted to be.

6. Here's an explanation for why we go gray plus ways to prevent it.

7. Have you seen my review of Rocksbox? Make sure to check it out and use the code 'astylecaddyxoxo' to get a monthly set of jewelry for free!

Have a great Monday!

Monday, March 16, 2015

good morning!

Arizona Lemon Trees and Cactus Plants // A Style Caddy

Good morning and Happy Monday!

The past two weekends, I've spent either at Pure Barre or napping because taking so many Pure Barre classes has worn me out. So since I haven't been doing anything exciting and I've been going to bed at a much earlier hour {a goal for 2015!}, I thought I'd share a few things from around the internet that piqued my interest...

1. There are some benefits to working out in the evening - a win for people like me who don't wake up at 5AM to exercise.

2. And to be completely honest, I'm just not a morning person at all. These are some ways to make waking up each morning easier and more enjoyable.

3. Sephora recently posted videos on how to do contour and highlight different face shapes - super helpful for me and my round face.

4. This grilled cheese recipe with asparagus, prosciutto, and brie cheese sounds so good!

5. A really interesting story on Rory McIlroy in this month's Golf Digest. I'm hoping he gets his first career grand slam at the Masters this year!

Friday, March 6, 2015

february favorites

It's hard to believe that the first week of March is already coming to an end. And Daylight Savings Time is this weekend. Seriously, where is the time going?

A new month means it's time to talk about some favorite products. I haven't filmed a video in so long so I was glad that I finally had the time to do one for my February favorites! You can find the full list of all the products I mention on my YouTube channel so make sure to check that out!


What products have you been loving recently? I'd love to know!

Have a great weekend!


PS. The great Shopbop sale ends tomorrow! Don't miss out on some fun pieces like these Greek-inspired sandals and this pretty gem clutch. Use the code BIGEVENT15 to get up to 25% off your entire order.

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

shopbop sale!

I'm sure you've heard by now, but Shopbop is having quite a good sale! I'm trying to be good and not spend any money on new clothes and jewelry since I really don't have the space for it, but if I didn't, I'm pretty sure I'd be shopping my tail off. The weather in New York City has been cold and windy and snowy so any opportunity to do some window browsing for spring things puts me in a much a better mood. Here are some things that caught my eye...



Use the code BIGEVENT15 to get 15% off orders of $250+, 20% off orders of $500+, and 25% off orders of $1000+. And it's good for things on East Dane if you're looking for something for a guy in your life. The sale ends on March 7th so don't wait! If you buy anything, let me know! I'm living vicariously through anyone who can make pretty purchases.

Monday, March 2, 2015

rocksbox style

Rocksbox Style // A Style Caddy
Rocksbox Style // A Style Caddy
Rocksbox Style - Margaret Elizabeth Bangle // A Style Caddy
Rocksbox Style - Kendra Scott Drusy Necklace // A Style Caddy

Happy March, friends!

What better way to kick off the month with some pretty jewelry?

Rocksbox is a jewelry subscription service that loans you up to $200 worth of jewelry per set. All you have to do is take a quick style survey and then start adding pieces to your wishlist. You get to choose from brands like Gorjana, Loren Hope, Kendra Scott, and House of Harlow and then based on your wishlist and specific requests, a stylist will hand pick three items to send to you for you to wear. You can wear them as much as you want before sending them back and receiving another three pieces. If you love a piece of jewelry so much that you can't bear to part with it - you don't have to! You can keep it and buy it for 20% off the original price.

I've been hearing about Rocksbox quite a bit lately so I was excited to try this out! And even better, A Style Caddy readers can use the code ASTYLECADDYXOXO to get their first month free! Free! Who doesn't love free things?

If you sign up, make sure to let me know so that I can see all the pretty baubles you received!


*Note: Rocksbox was very, very kind and provided me with a three month subscription. The provided code is a referral so I will get some perks in return so if you do use it, a big huge THANK YOU from me to you!

Latest Instagrams

© A Style Caddy. Design by FCD.