Carrot Cake

I wish I were about to show you some really beautiful cake, covered in fondant, with gum paste flowers, edible gold and other fancy decorations.

But no.

Here is a carrot cake. The same way My mom's been making it for years. This cake is heavy, dense, very filling (and satisfting) if you eat too much. The cake is so good you could eat it on it's own, without the frosting! Of course, I'd say the same thing about the frosting...I can't remember how many times I've licked the bowl out! It's creamy, rich, thick and smooth.

But it's sloppy. The whole cake, whenever I make it, it looks sloppy. It's just not a naturally beautiful cake. But it's whats inside that counts, right?









This is one of my favorite cakes. My sister claims she could this off of this, eating nothing more. I tend to agree with her...(If we did, we'd all get really fat! )

Carrot Cake recipe:

2 1/2 cups of flour
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt

2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 eggs

2 cups shredded carrots
8 oz. crush pineapple (from a can)
1 cup rasins or walnuts (optional)

Greese and lightly flour a 13 X 9 pan. *

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl beat together sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs. Add the flur mixture and beat together just until combined. Do not over beat. Add the shredded carrots, crushed pineapple, and raisin/walnuts. Gently combine together,on very low speed with hand mixer for a few seconds or with a large wooden spoon.

* My mom and I always double the recipe and use 2 9-inch pans. If you do this, you'll have a little leftover which can be baked in a loaf pan.

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz. cream cheese, soft
2 1/2 cups powder sugar
6 tbls. butter, soft
1 tsp. vanilla

Throw all the ingredients in a bowl and beat until smooth and creamy. Warning: powder sugar likes to fly out of the bowl and mess up all you counters and measurments. Be sure to use a large bowl, especially if doubled!