Comedian Anthony Anderson is eating his way across the U.S.A. in "Anthony Eats America."
If he was dating his way across America, he'd have a surefire secret weapon now in one Dolphins Cheerleader's man-catching cake.
Lauren Jones, who grew up on Texas but miraculously escaped Cowboys fandom to head to Miami, says her mom's carrot cake powered her fiance to propose after eating it. (Or so the story goes -- we're sure she didn't have to twist his arm with sugary goodness.) But as Anderson also discovered, this dessert really is worth cheering over.
Check out the hijinks that went down in a suite at Sun Life Stadium as the pair got to baking -- and try it yourself with Lauren's recipe below:
Mother's Carrot Cake
By: Lauren Jones, Miami, FL
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
4 eggs
3 cups grated carrots (Push them down in the measuring cup to get out the pockets of air)
Pecan pieces (Add however many you like, I usually use about 1 cup)
• Grease and flour a bundt pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Stir dry ingredients together: sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda.
• Add cooking oil and eggs. Mix thoroughly, until smooth.
• Bake for 50 minutes to one hour, depending on your oven. Just look and see when it is pulling away from the side of the pan and the top is brown. Since this cake is very heavy, it continues to cook for a little while after you take it out of the oven.
• Let cake cool for at least 15 minutes before you turn it upside down on a plate. Place your plate on the top of the bundt pan and
• Frost with Easy Cream Cheese Frosting after it is has cooled down. Serve at room temperature. (You need to refrigerate leftovers.)
Easy Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients
(2) 8 ounce packages of cream cheese
1 stick butter, unsalted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Confectioner's (powdered) sugar to taste (I mix it in and taste it as I go)
• Put ingredients in bowl except for the sugar and allow them to soften to room temperature. (You can do this faster by using the "defrost" setting on the microwave for one minute - before you add the sugar.)
• Use a potato masher or a mixer to blend until smooth.
• Add the sugar and mix and taste as you go to get just the sweetness you want.
• If the cake or the frosting is too hot when you frost it, the frosting will all slide to the bottom. Decorate the top with crushed pecans or a little bit of grated carrots for color. Enjoy!