Question: Highland Park Cafeteria in Dallas is known for delicious homestyle cooking. Their Carrot Cake with a gooey glaze is my favorite, and I would really enjoy making the cake if you can get the recipe.
- Inez Pope, Rutland, Vt.
Answer: The Dallas Memorial Center for Holocaust Studies in the Jewish Community Center is a place "to remember, to record, to understand, to explain, and to enlighten future generations." It was organized by a group of survivors to serve as a memorial to the 6 million Jews who perished before and during World War II. The Holocaust was a terrible event unlike any other in history. Group members relate their experiences, so that all who enter the center will realize that the choices that each of us makes in daily life affect the world and its destiny.
The unique entrance is through a boxcar that was used during the Holocaust to transport Jews from their homes throughout Europe to the Nazi ghettos and concentration camps. Videotaped testimonies of survivors of the Holocaust are available, and the filmed footage of the liberators of the concentration camps are shown as a tribute to those non-Jewish people who saved the honor of mankind through their acts of rescue.
In addition to guided tours, the educational Center contains a resource library, museum, lecture hall and archives. As John Dos Passos wrote, "Our only hope will lie in the frail web of understanding of one person for the pain of another."
The Highland Park Cafeteria is a Dallas landmark that has been serving the same high-quality food for years, and locals know they can nibble delicacies such as artichokes in tomato aspic and creme brulee or fill up on downhome-style barbecued brisket and tortilla soup. The carrot cake, an unusual combination of pineapple, coconut and carrots, is coated with a yummy Butterscotch Glaze while still warm from the oven.
America a la Carte welcomes recipe requests. Send the complete address of the restaurant along with your name, address and phone number to: America a la Carte, P.O. Box 5994, Austin, TX 78763-5994; or fax (512) 453-2145.
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Recipe
CARROT CAKE WITH BUTTERSCOTCH GLAZE
11/2 cups canola oil
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
21/2 cups cake flour, sifted
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sweetened crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup flaked coconut
1 cup grated carrots
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup pecan pieces
Butterscotch glaze
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl of mixer combine oil, eggs and sugar. Beat at lowest speed 1/2 minute. Increase to medium speed and beat 1/2 minute. In a separate bowl mixing bowl, combine flour, soda and salt. Slowly add dry mixture to oil mixture, blending at lowest speed for 1/2 minute. Increase to medium speed and beat another 1/2 minute. Scrape the bottom of the bowl occasionally to ensure that the mixture is completely blended.
In a separate mixing bowl, combine pineapple, coconut, carrots, vanilla and pecans. Add to flour mixture, beating at lowest speed just long enough to blend all ingredients together, about 1 minute. Stop mixer and stir batter with a spatula, scraping the bottom of the mixing bowl. Pour batter into 2-quart no-stick bundt or tube pan and bake 50 to 55 minutes or until done (cake will come back up when touched lightly with fingers). Remove from oven and cool 15 minutes. Makes 1 cake, yielding 12 serv-ings.
Butterscotch glaze: Combine brown sugar, buttermilk, butter, corn syrup, vanilla and baking soda in large saucepan over medium heat. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat to low and simmer 12 to 15 minutes. The mixture will not thicken. Pour over cake in pan while cake is still warm. For best results, let cake cool 5 additional minutes before removing from pan. Place a large piece of foil under the cake to hold the glaze as the cake is turned out onto a cake board because the glaze is quite runny. Makes 11/2 cups of glaze.