Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Moist and quick carrot cake
Q. I am searching for a great recipe for carrot cake. I tasted a delicious recipe at Fairchild Tropical Gardens last year. It was moist and had excellent flavor. Unfortunately, most of the recipes I have tried result in a dry cake. Can you help? — Jo Ann N., Fort Lauderdale
A.
This one took some serious super sleuthing. After a few dead-end online searches, I called Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens (10901 Old Cutler Road, Coral Gables, 305-667-1651, fairchildgarden.org). The Glasshouse and Lakeside cafés are temporarily closed for renovations. Outside vendors are available for snacks. A few more calls led me to chefs Andrea Curto-Randazzo and Frank Randazzo, owners of Creative Tastes Catering and Event Planning (12229 SW 131st Ave., Miami, 305-256-8399, creativetastes.com). The married duo were the contracted caterers for the Fairchild for 10 years.
Chef Andrea served her carrot cake at the café and for many special events at the garden.
As a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., Andrea, originally from Vero Beach, gained formal training at New York City’s Tribeca Grill where she met Frank. In 1996, Curto-Randazzo returned to Florida and accepted a pastry position at The Heights in Coral Gables, where she and Frank crossed paths again. In 1998 she took on the role as executive sous chef of Wish at The Hotel on Miami Beach and eventually became executive chef. She earned national attention when she was named Food & Wine Magazine’s Best New Chef in 2000. She has received accolades from The New York Times, Bon Appetit, Gourmet and the James Beard Association and competed in season 7 of Bravo’s Emmy award-winning television series Top Chef. In 2003 she and now husband Frank opened Talula on South Beach.
Frank Randazzo started cooking at the age of 16 in his native town of Staten Island. He followed his passion, attending Johnson & Wales University in Rhode Island and earning a culinary arts degree. After working at the Ritz-Carlton in Boston, Randazzo moved to New York and worked at Aquavit, Arizona 206 and Tribeca Grill. An executive chef position lured him to The Heights.
Andrea and Frank currently own and operate Creative Tastes, a Miami-based full-service catering and event production company, and Randazzo Management, a hospitality and restaurant management consulting firm.
When asked about her carrot cake recipe, Chef Andrea commented, “I love carrot cake, but am not a fan of the cream cheese frosting. In my opinion, this cake is so moist it doesn’t need frosting. The recipe may look complicated because it has a lot of ingredients, but I really throw all wet ingredients together, then dry and just mix it up. Nothing fancy. When we were doing Sunday brunch at Talula years ago there was a lavish homemade sweets display. I needed recipes that I could just bust out. This one was one of my go-tos. It is great as a muffin, or loaf bread with your coffee. You of course could dress it up with frosting, whipped cream or ice cream if you wanted. But in my opinion, no need.”
The couple is busy with their new online food service delivery company. Online orders can be placed for individual meals or catering platters. Meals are prepared using healthy ingredients, cooked by professional chefs and delivered fresh to your home, never frozen, in insulated, reusable bags. Refrigerate until you’re ready to use, then follow the provided instructions to heat and serve. Orders can be placed at randazzoitaliano.com.
Q. I know this is not your typical request but maybe you can help. I read where you can do something to make a 15-ounce cake mix into an 18-ounce one. But I forgot to save the article. Do you have any idea what I can do when the recipe calls for 18.25-ounce cake mix and that size can't be found? I hate to have
Now that we’re in the midst of one of my favorite times of year in South Florida, mango season, I want to share this upcoming event I discovered while researching today’s carrot cake recipe. The 25th annual International Mango Festival, “From Wild to Table,” takes place at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden on July 1-2. The event, dedicated to the “king of tropical fruit,” offers lectures, cooking demonstrations from local chefs and tips from horticulturists to keep your mango trees thriving. There will also be shopping from artisans and sampling foods and summer brews from local vendors. The garden is at 10901 Old Cutler Road, Coral Gables; 305-667-1651, fairchildgarden.org. Mark your calendars.
Claire’s tip of the week: to buy two cake mixes just to get that extra 3-ounces. Help! — Ruth Calvin, Davie
A.
After researching Ruth’s conundrum online, I realized the case of the shrinking boxed cake mix became a problem for many home bakers about five years ago. Major players in the baking world such as Duncan Hines, Pillsbury and Betty Crocker, reduced their cake mix package size. New cake mixes are 15.25 ounces compared to their previous size of 18.25 ounces, a 3-ounce difference. Why? Changing the size is less noticeable than a price increase.
Yet the smaller move left many home bakers in a pickle when their Junior League and church parish cookbook recipes called for an 18.25-ounce cake mix as an ingredient.
The recipe provided can be used for yellow or white cake mixes. For chocolate mixes, substitute 25 percent of the flour with cocoa powder. Store the cake mix add-in in a mason jar to have on hand as needed. The liquid ingredients for the mixes remain the same.