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Prep Time: 0 Minutes Cook Time: 40 Minutes |
Ready In: 40 Minutes Servings: 8 |
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I'm a complete sucker for carrot cake. I could live on it. I never made one, because there was always someplace that made great carrot cakes, until we moved to Pennsylvania. I'm sure there are many places in the state with great carrot cakes, but they aren't here, and everybody here seems to think that cream cheese frosting is supposed to have sour cream in it (nasty, nasty, nasty! Read more !) So I've been trying recipes and fiddling with them, until I think I found the perfect, very moist, carrot cake with truly amazing frosting. I was going to take a picture, but when I came back with the camera, it had already been cut and somebody was eating it! Ingredients:
cake |
2 cups flour (see directions) |
2 teaspoons baking powder |
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda |
1/2 teaspoon salt |
2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon |
4 eggs |
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil |
2 cups sugar |
2 3/4 cups shredded carrots (see instructions) |
1 8 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained |
1 cup walnuts (see instructions) |
1 cup flaked coconut |
cream cheese frosting |
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature |
3/4 pound cream cheese, at room temperature |
2 tablespoons milk |
2 tablespoons vanilla |
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar |
Directions:
1. About the flour. All-purpose is great, but cake flour will give you a more delicate cake (in any cake recipe, not just this one).
2. About the carrots. There is no reason to peel them, and you can use woody carrots in this recipe. Cut off the ends, then cut the carrots into lengths that will stand up in the chute of your food processor (standing up because then you get short shreds). Pack the chute so none of the carrot pieces will fall over, and shred.
3. About the walnuts. PLEASE don't substitute here, unless you can find (and like) black walnuts. I prefer to nearly powder them, because it spreads that walnut richness throughout the cake, but a large chop is more traditional.
4. Make the cake first.
5. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 13x9x2 pan.
6. Mix sugar, oil, and eggs. Beat in flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir in shredded carrots, crushed pineapple, nuts and coconut, and pour into pan.
7. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, it passes the toothpick test. Do not overbake. Cool thoroughly before frosting.
8. Make the frosting:
9. Cream the butter and cream cheese until smooth and completely blended. Mix in 1 tablespoon of the milk and vanilla. Blend in the powdered sugar, and add the second tablespoon of milk if needed. Oh. Try not to eat it all out of the bowl before you get it onto the cake.
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