Carrot Cake 

I never really ate carrot cake much as a child or adult, probably because I didn’t get it. I mean why would I want to eat a cake with vegetables in it? Then to add insult to injury, it always had something like raisins or nuts in it, neither of which I’m a fan of in my cakes. So it wasn’t until my husband told me it was his favorite that I decided to give it a try. I decided to bake it for him for his birthday one year. Of course had to taste what I made, and it was love at first bite.

Ever since then, I’ve made it every Thanksgiving, Christmas and special occasion in between. Everyone loves it. Like miss your flight and be excited to come back to the house to get another slice, loves it.

The first time my mom tired my carrot cake she commented: “Delicious! You know what would make it even better? Some raisins or nuts” LOL, figures.

Both of these are easily added to this recipe if you’d like and I’ll let you know when and where below. Here’s a tip, if you’re going to add raisins or nuts to this carrot cake or anything like this to a batter, say blueberries to muffins for example, dredge them in a little flour first, it prevents them from sinking to the bottom – you’re welcome 🙂

This carrot cake recipe and the cream cheese frosting that takes it over-the-top to-die-for, are the result of tweaks and updates that come from my kitchen to yours. The result is super moist, super flavorful and will make you a superstar to whoever you share it with.

Enjoy!

Mommi Yolande

Ingredients:

Butter, for baking tins

2 cups all-purpose flour, additional for baking tins

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

3 cups grated carrots

OPTIONAL:

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, and/or

1 cup raisins

 

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Two 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature

1 stick salted butter, room temperature

3 cups powdered (confectioner’s) sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

 

Finely grate 3 cups of washed and peeled carrots and set aside.

 

Butter and flour 3, 9-inch round baking tins and line bottom of the pans with parchment paper.

 

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk to combine.

 

Add your eggs and vegetable oil to the bowl of dry ingredients. Using a mixer, blend until combined.

 

Add carrots and pecans, if using. Use a spatula to fold them in, stirring gently to encorporate the carrots throughout the batter.

 

Pour  in even portions into your 3 pans.

 

Bake for approximately 40 minutes, just until a knife or toothpick come out clean.

 

Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pans, place on waxed paper and allow to cool completely before frosting.

 

For the frosting:

Add all ingredients, into a medium bowl and beat until fluffy using a hand mixer. Spread frosting on top of each cake layer. Stack the cakes on a serving plate and frost the entire perimeter of the stacked cake. Optional – finish by sprinkling the perimeter with chipped walnuts or pecans and serve.

Yields 10 servings.