Honey Maple Carrot Cake

Finally, Ben actually bakes a cake. It's been a little while. Doubled up on a recipe from Dede Wilson's first wedding cake book that I'd wanted to try for a while... Honey Maple Carrot Cake. A really interesting recipe in that it used honey and maple syrup instead of granulated sugar and vegetable oil instead of butter. Almost vegan, if not for the eggs. I've never made a carrot cake before. Never used to be a fan, but the concept has grown on me over the last few years. One of these was actually commissioned from me as a birthday cake. The other I did for a friend's "welcome home" party.

The buttercream was a little freaky too; made in the Italian meringue style, but with boiling honey and maple syrup instead of melted sugar. Lent a noticeable flavor to the finished product. You can see I tried a couple different decorating looks. My piping skills still need work. Visible in the last pic is my attempt to do a pattern with this mix-and-match cake comb device that was just a mess; the little plastic pieces kept falling apart in my hands. Probably the last we'll see of that.