Carrot Cake

This is the cake that everyone ALWAYS raves about. I make it for family gatherings, parties with friends…it is my most popular cake. I have had people tell me they never liked carrot cake until they tasted this one. The beauty of this cake (besides being delicious) is it freezes well. So any leftovers, put it in an airtight container and stick in in the freezer, then just defrost and enjoy!  A fabulous recipe. 🙂

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 c. vegetable oil
4 eggs
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup crushed and drained pineapple
1 pound cream cheese, softened (2 8-oz. packages)
3/4 cup butter (1 ½ sticks), softened
2 tsp. vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners sugar

Directions:

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Generously grease 2 round 9-inch pans.

Step 2: In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.

Step 3: In another large bowl, mix sugar and oil.  Beat in eggs with an electric mixer.  Stir in carrots and pineapple.  Then stir in flour mixture.

Step 4: Pour into prepared pans and bake about 30-35 minute, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool about 10 minutes, then remove cakes from pans.

Step 5: Make the frosting! Cream together cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed.  Gradually mix in the powdered sugar. Add the vanilla and beat on medium-high until completely blended.

Step 5: Once the cakes have completely cooled, spread cream cheese frosting over one of the layers.  Lay the other layer on top, and spread the frosting on the top and over the sides.

If you want to be fancy, put some frosting in a piping bag with a star tip and pipe a border on the edges of the cake. If you are artistic, you can add some food coloring to the frosting or buy some orange and green frosting and draw a carrot on top. If you have sprinkles on hand, that’s always festive. Or just leave it plain. No matter what you do, it will be delicious!