Jack's Carrot Cake -- The Sweetness You Apply to a Hard Week

Valentine's week, and Robert gave me a set of wooden spoons he carved himself — cherry wood, hand-shaped, each one slightly different from the others, the way handmade things are different from manufactured things: imperfect and therefore perfect, carrying the mark of the hands that made them. The spoons are beautiful. The spoons are Robert's love rendered in cherry wood and given to the woman who will use them to stir the soup that feeds the household that Robert built shelves for and gardens for and carved spoons for. The circle of love in this house is made of wood and food and the particular patience of a man who builds and a woman who cooks.

James has applied to law school — three schools: University of South Carolina (first choice), College of Charleston School of Law, and UGA. The applications are out, the waiting begins, and the waiting is the same waiting that Carrie endured two years ago for Emory: the particular torture of having done everything you can and now depending on other people to see what you see in yourself.

Mama had a week of deep confusion. She did not recognize me on Tuesday. She did not recognize Robert on Thursday. She recognized Ruth on every day, which is either a miracle or a commentary on the particular quality of daily caregiving that Ruth provides, the quality that imprints on the Alzheimer's brain more deeply than spousal or filial recognition. Ruth is the constant. Ruth is the five-day-a-week face. And the constancy has earned a recognition that love alone has not, and the earning is not unfair. It is the disease's logic, and the logic is not ours to argue with.

I made chocolate cake — not for Valentine's, not for any occasion, but because the week was hard and chocolate cake is the answer to hard weeks the way aspirin is the answer to headaches: not a cure but a treatment, not a solution but a comfort, the sweetness applied to the bitterness in the hope that the combination will produce something survivable.

I didn’t set out to share the recipe I baked that week — the chocolate cake was made for no audience, eaten in the kitchen standing up, the way comfort food sometimes has to be eaten. But when I went back to bake again that weekend, this time with a little more steadiness in me, I reached for Jack’s Carrot Cake: the one that requires grating and stirring and the particular attention that pulls you out of your own head and puts your hands to work. It’s the same logic as the chocolate cake — sweetness applied to bitterness — only this one I could share with Ruth, who has earned every good thing this household can offer her.

Jack’s Carrot Cake

Prep Time: 25 minutes | Cook Time: 35 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3 large eggs
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple, drained
• 2 cups finely grated carrots (about 4 medium carrots)
• 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• Cream Cheese Frosting:
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

Instructions

1. Preheat and prepare. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans, or line with parchment paper.
2. Combine dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Set aside.
3. Mix wet ingredients. In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined.
4. Build the batter. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring until just incorporated. Fold in the crushed pineapple, grated carrots, shredded coconut, and chopped nuts. Do not overmix.
5. Bake. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for 30—35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the edges pull slightly from the pan.
6. Cool completely. Let the layers cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely before frosting. Do not frost a warm cake.
7. Make the frosting. Beat the softened butter and cream cheese together until fluffy and smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla, then gradually beat in the sifted powdered sugar until the frosting is creamy and spreadable.
8. Frost and serve. Place one cake layer on a serving plate and spread a generous layer of frosting on top. Set the second layer on top and frost the top and sides. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before slicing for clean cuts.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 610 | Protein: 6g | Fat: 32g | Carbs: 78g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 340mg