Carrot Cake

Growing up, carrot cake was my mom's homemade cake of choice, so I've always been biased towards carrot cake, especially NOMMY carrot cake! While trying not to brag, I must say that this carrot cake from that all-knowing tome of cooking knowledge, "The Joy of Cooking," is one of the best carrot cakes I've ever had the pleasure of tasting. It could very well be the best...and it came out of my kitchen!

This cake is very inexpensive to make; usually the only ingredient I have to purchase for it is cream cheese (for the mouth-watering frosting). As I've mentioned before, I typically have carrots hanging out in my fridge, and the recipe uses about 4. I only purchased my first bottle of allspice recently (for stuffed French toast), so I didn't have to pick it up on this shopping trip, but if you don't have any, I recommend making the approximately $3 investment, even if just for carrot cake. Those "Joy of Cooking" people really know their stuff, and as one of my friends observed, the blend of spices in this cake are just perfect.

My friends and I enjoyed this cake so much that I made it again just two days later for church potluck!

Cake Ingredients
(Have all cake ingredients at room temperature.)
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves (I omitted this.)
1/2 tsp freshly grated or ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups finely grated peeled carrots
1 cup finely chopped walnuts (Did not include these.)
1 cup golden raisins (optional)
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, lightly drained (optional)

Cake Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9 x 2-inch round pans or two 8 x 8-inch pans or one 13 x 9-inch pan or line the bottom(s) with wax or parchment paper. (I greased and floured two 9 x 2-inch round pans.)

2. Whisk together thoroughly in a large bowl: flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice, and salt.

3. Add and stir together well with a rubber spatula or beat on low speed: vegetable oil and eggs.

4. Stir in: carrots, walnuts, and any other optional mix-ins.

"Finely grate" your carrots in the food processor!

Scrape the batter into the pan(s) and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes in round or square pans, 30 to 35 minutes in a 13 x 9-inch pan. Let cool in the pan(s) on a rack for 10 minutes. Slide a thin knife around the cake to detach it from the pan(s). Invert the cake and peel off the paper liner(s), if using. Let cool on the rack.

(The first time I made this cake, I baked it for 25 minutes. The cake had a bit of a hard crust, but I wasn't sure if that was the result of cooking time or the fact that I left it in the pan for too long after removing it from the oven. So I reduced the second cake baking time by just one minute and made sure I inverted it from the pan after 10 minutes of cooling. It was perfect!)

Greasing and flouring your pans is so important for ease of removal!

Cream Cheese Frosting Ingredients
(Have cream cheese cold and butter at room temperature.)
8 oz. cream cheese
5 Tbsp unsalted butter (Optional, but I included it!)
2 tsp vanilla
2 to 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted (I used all 2 1/2 cups!)
Ground cinnamon to taste

Frosting Instructions
Combine cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar in a food processor and pulse just until smooth and creamy. Do not overprocess so as to maintain its smooth, spreadable consistency. Stir in cinnamon.

Frost between cake layers and on top and sides. You'll have plenty of frosting to do so!