D'Andrews Celebrates a Milestone

Today, our owner and Executive Chef, David Andrews turns another year older.  What we are even more excited about is the one year anniversary of D'Andrews Bakery & Cafe on July 20th.  Stop by next week for a sweet treat and help us celebrate these two milestones.

Hazelnut and Dark Chocolate Cake with our Handcrafted Nutella

One of our favorite "sweet" stories comes from David himself:

One year ago, I was celebrating my birthday and imagining, as D'Andrews was just about to open, who my first customer would be. Would they be a local, someone I knew from my childhood growing up in Music City, or would they be a visitor from out of town? What would they order? Would they pay with a $2 bill that I could frame and hang on my wall?  When July 20th finally arrived, we were anxiously anticipating the visit of our very first customer.  Sure enough, as our doors opened, Nashville showed up to welcome us to the neighborhood with open arms.  That first customer I had been so excited about stepped up to the counter and made his order - two of our fantastic D'onuts - a sugared brioche donut filled with vanilla cream.  We offered coffee or tea and he simply wanted the donuts. When I rang up the order, the total came to $7.11, my birthday.  I felt like, right then, the universe was trying to tell me that everything was going work out for D'Andrews Bakery.

We are so humbled by the way Nashville has embraced D'Andrews Bakery & Cafe over the past year and are looking forward to getting to know more guests who we welcome as friends in the coming years.

What is a birthday without a cake? Do you or someone you love have a birthday coming up? Let us create a memorable custom cake to celebrate their special day. Here at D’Andrews, we take pride in our attention to detail while also showing off our creative side. Our customers have asked us for some beautiful cakes that really fit the personality of person they are made to honor. We offer a variety flavors and designs so our customers can celebrate their birthday in style. We can create anything from small cakes that feed 6-8 people, to cakes for a crowd that feed up to 45.

Thank you again to all our customers for your support over the last year. We appreciate each and every one of you!

Recipe of the Month - Carrot Cake

"Your carrot cake reminds me of my grandmother’s!” is something we hear often here at D’Andrews Bakery. The smooth texture and sweet and spicy flavor combined with the luxurious mascarpone cheese frosting create the perfect delicacy.  We twisted David’s arm, and for the first time he is sharing his famous recipe, along with some fun facts about carrot cake.

D’Andrews Carrot Cake

Did you know that the history of carrot cake is believed to date back to an English carrot pudding from the 1500’s? It is also believed that George Washington ate carrot cake in a tavern in what would today be lower Manhattan in 1747 on British Evacuation Day. Historically, carrot was used as a substitute for sugar when it was difficult for people to access sugar. Because of this, carrot cake made a resurgence during World War II when sugar was scarce. 

David first learned the technique of making the cake in the style of a mayonnaise while working at Gotham Bar & Grill in NYC. That recipe used vegetable oil, but David prefers grapeseed oil for a cleaner taste. Tweaking his recipe the past few years, taking away the pineapple (although delicious) and walnuts, it was the addition of parsnips that really set his cake apart. They add a pleasant earthiness to the cake.  The use of muscovado sugar from Sri Lanka and Vietnamese cinnamon are also vital to the fantastic flavor. Consistency at the bakery is achieved by always measuring out all the ingredients with a scale, leaving no room for error.  In the recipe below, we offer both the cup and gram measurements for you.

D’Andrews Carrot Cake:

4 Whole Eggs (room temperature)

1 2/3 cups (330g) - White Sugar

1 2/3 cups (330g) - Muscovado Light Brown Sugar (Billington’s)

1 3/4 cups (400g) - Grapeseed Oil

1 1/2 tsp (7.5g) - Vanilla Extract (Madagascar)

3 TBLS (45g) - Buttermilk

Pinch (1g) - Ground Nutmeg

1 tsp (4g) - Ground Dried Ginger

1 tsp (4g) - Ground Vietnamese Cinnamon

4 tsp (20g) - Salt

2 1/2 tsp (12g) - Baking Soda

1 1/2 tsp (7.5g) - Baking Powder

3 3/4 cups (480g) - AP Flour (we use King Arthur)

3 1/4 cups (400g) - Shredded Parsnips

4 cups (480g) - Shredded Carrots

2 1/2 cups (400g) - Dried Golden Raisins

1) Whisk on KA high sugars and warmed eggs for 5 min

2) Mix Oil, BM & Van- slowly pour into risen egg/sugar mixture

3) Whisk, Sift Whisk Dry and fold into mixture

4) Fold in Grated Carrots/ parsnips

5) Fold in Raisins

Bake 325 for 15 min turn 10 min

Recipe yields 1 half sheet tray

Mascarpone Frosting

1/1 cup (113.5g) Butter

2 cups (230g) 10x sugar

1/1 tsp (2g) Salt

1/2 tsp (2g) Vanilla extract

1 1/8 cup (250g) Mascarpone Cheese

Cream for 5 min room temp butter and sugar w/ salt & vanilla 

Fold in room temp mascarpone cheese

The cake is then completed with a brush of vanilla simple syrup, made with equal parts water and sugar and infused with a vanilla bean.

Try this recipe at home and be sure to tag us on social @dandrewsbakery and use #dandrews!