Dailey

i was afraid of that. o well, i guess i'll just make plain ones, you can never go wrong with those, thanks!

pumpkin rolls i make these every thanksgiving, they are so good!

i want to make shortbread cookies today but thought i'd add pumpkin puree to my basic recipe. anyone know if this will be okay to do and if so, how much? i did a search on the web but came up with nothing, thanks!

thanks so much miladyinsanity and pastrymama! it was a hit.

makes sense, thanks! so its kinda like a 7 minutes-type of icing. hmmm, if i used the swiss meringue recipe in the link, could i iced it a few hours early and torch it at the party? i would like to take the dessert already fully prepared to the party...i'm sure the kitchen will be occupied by the host getting all the last minute stuff together and i don't want to get in her way, thanks again!

thanks! it just occured to me that the swiss meringue in the link doesn't call for butter. do you think if i used butter in the recipe it would burn?

i'm making this cake tonight for a get-together tomarro but was wondering if i could used my basic swiss meringue recipe instead of the one in the link. will i be able to iced it in the morning and torch it later on in the day? it seems the icing they used is more like an italian meringue, not sure if it would make a difference, thanks!

you know, i think you're on to something. i recall a recipe i made awhile back which called for over a cup of oil. it stated to do just what you said, emulsify the oil into the eggs. i don't recall the cake being greasy. hmm, i'm gonna have to try this method with my next carrot cake. thanks!

thanks everyone for the input and links~very interesting read. well i ended up giving both of the carrots cakes that i made to the dog. even the one with half the butter was still too oily according to my taste-testers. i'll have to try it again with some of the suggestions here.

i've tried many recipes for these types of cakes and most call for at least 1 or more cups of oil. is it just me or does anyone else have problems with the cake being greasy?!? obviously people are having good results with these recipes because there are so many of them that call for this amount of oil. i realize these are not light, fluffy-type of cakes but i just can't get over the greasy look and taste. i just finished remaking rebecca rather's tropical carrot cake, it originally called for 1 1/2 cups of oil but i redid it using 1 cup of oil and 1 stick of butter. i like the look of it (and taste) much better. however, maybe these types of cakes are suppose to have this type of texture and taste? i have an order for carrot cake next week and would hate to tweak my recipe when someone expects it to taste a certain way...hope that makes sense! any thoughts? thanks!

thanks again! shalmenese, i was just making the burnt sugar syrup, i haven't even gotten to the buttercream part yet. there are a couple different ones on the net i wanted to try. most of them call for butter, powered sugar and a bit of milk, and even cream cheese in one recipe. i will try it again with sugar and water.

i should have been more clear, sorry. i did dissolve the dry sugar until it was an amber color, then slowly added the water and continued to cook it on med heat. i didn't feel like i cooked it that long so i was suprised that it became so hard. i just tried it again and this time it burnt. i've never actually tasted this type of icing before, is it even worth it? is there a shortcut recipe i can try that would produce the same results? i was told its similair in taste to dulce de leche or flan so i was really excited to try it. srhcb, thanks for the recipe! i love anything with brown sugar. i will have to print this one out, thanks everyone, i really appreciate the help.

i'm planning on icing my pumpkin cake with burnt sugar icing. i just attempted to make the burnt sugar syrup (1/2 cup sugar & water) after i melted the sugar in the pot i added the water and cooked till all the sugar melted (a few minutes). then i poured it into a bowl to cool. well i just went to "pour" my syrup and its hard. did i cook it too long after i added the water or not long enough? thanks so much.

i'm thinking maybe add some melted bittersweet chocolate? not sure on what it would do to the texture though as this buttercream seems delicate.

thanks!