A Delicious Treat For Easter/ Champagne Carrot and Raisin Cake

There's a new word for people who are obsessed with a healthy diet, Orthorexia, at least it's new to me. The termed was first coined in 1997 by a physician to describe his own approach to food and his pattern of eating. Orthorexia has not officially been recognized as an eating disorder, but many healthcare workers and nutritionists have seen an up rise in patients who are so consumed with food purity and quality that they are restricting their diets in potentially dangerous ways. Well, that's not me!!! While I basically follow a vegetarian lifestyle, and I try to limit sugar and processed foods, I LOVE a piece of cake from time to time, and Easter has cake written all over it...at least for me :)

If you by chance are looking for something a little different for your Easter dinner feast, this is a cake that is easy to make and delicious. The basic recipe is straight off of a box of cake mix. I was initially lead to the cake as I hate to waste much of anything, and it always seems that when I have a dinner party, wine is left over. Quite often, I will pour left over wine in a baggie and freeze it. I love to cook mussels in leftover white wine, or Prosecco. I'll use red and white wine in pasta sauce mixes, and so on. This cake will use up a good bit of leftover white wine, or Prosecco. Prosecco is my preferred white wine. I love the delicate sparkle. Although Prosecco is not champagne, the cake could be made with leftover champagne, and I thought it a better title :) 

To begin, combine 1 cup of leftover white wine with 1/2 cup of raisins. Bring to a boil, turn heat off, leave lid on pot and allow the raisins to steam for 1/2 hour or more. They will plump up nicely. 

Drain the raisins and reserve the raisin liquor.

Sprinkle a small amount of the cake mix over the raisins to coat. This will keep them from falling to the bottom of the cake while baking. Set aside. 

Once the cake batter has been assembled, add 1 cup of shredded carrots, the raisins, 

And 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Mix well.
 

In a separate bowl, mix 1/4 cup of chopped pecans, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1/4 cup of brown sugar. 

Grease and flour bundt pan and sprinkle a layer of chopped pecans over the bottom. Be generous!

Spoon half of the cake batter over the pecans. 

Sprinkle half of the sugar, pecan and cinnamon mixture over the cake batter. 

Pour remaining cake batter over the sugar mixture and then sprinkle the rest of the sugar mixture on top of the cake batter. 

Take a knife and swirl the sugar mixture through the batter being careful not to disturb the pecans on the bottom of the pan. 

While the cake is baking, make the glaze, using 1 stick of butter, 1/4 cup of water, and 1 cup of sugar. Bring to a boil and allow to boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. The glaze will take on a pretty pale yellow color. 

Turn heat off and add 1/4 cup of white wine.  

Once cake has baked, remove from oven, and while still in the pan, spoon 2/3 of the glaze mixture over the cake. I like to take a wooden skewer and poke lots of little holes in the top of my cake prior to pouring on the glaze. 

Allow the cake to sit in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and place on serving dish. Spoon the rest of the glaze over the top of the cake. So pretty:) If you would like, for a prettier presentation, you could dust a little powdered sugar over the cake. 

Champagne Carrot and Raisin Cake
downloadable recipe

Ingredients;

Raisins;
1 cup white wine(or sparkling white wine like Prosecco)
1/2 cup raisins

Cake Batter;
1 box yellow cake mix
1 3 oz. box instant vanilla pudding mix
1/2 cup water 
3/4 cup vegetable oil
Reserved wine from raisins plus enough white wine to equal 1/2 cup
4 eggs
1 cup shredded carrots
Reserved raisins
1 teaspoon cinnamon 

Sugar Streusel;
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped pecans

Glaze;
1 stick of butter 
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup white wine(or sparkling wine)

Approximately 1/2 cup of chopped pecans for bottom of cake.

Directions;
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Baking Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Begin by placing raisins and wine in pot and bringing to a boil. Cover and allow to steam for at least 30 minutes to allow the raisins to plump up and absorb some of the wine. After the raisins have steamed, drain and reserve the liquor from the raisins. Sprinkle a small amount of the dry cake mix over the raisins, and stir to coat. Set both raisins and liquor aside.

Combine cake mix, pudding mix, vegetable oil, water, reserved liquor from raisins, and eggs. Beat well for 2 minutes to combine. Stir in shredded carrots, reserved raisins, and cinnamon.

Combine sugar, cinnamon and chopped pecans for sugar streusel.

Grease and flour bundt pan. Sprinkle chopped pecans over bottom of pan to coat. Pour half of cake batter over chopped pecans. Spoon half of the sugar streusel over the cake batter. Pour remaining cake batter over streusel, and finish with remaining streusal. Take knife and swirl the streusel mixture through the cake batter being careful not to disturb pecans on the bottom. Place in oven and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.

Make glaze. Combine butter, water and sugar in pan. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in white wine. Set aside until cake is removed from the oven.

Once cake has baked, remove from the oven. While still in the bundt pan, poke holes all over the top of the cake with a wooden skewer. Spoon 2/3 of the the glaze over cake. Allow the cake to remain in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and place on serving dish. Spoon remaining glaze over cake. 

The cake is best made a day ahead of time. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. If you would like, sprinkle cake with powdered sugar. Sliced strawberries make a lovely accompaniment too!Serve and enjoy!  

If you are having guests for Easter, they will probably enjoy a piece of this cake for breakfast too!!!

  
Happy Easter Everyone!

Rhonda