CARROT CAKE

When my husband and I first met we both claimed to make the worlds best carrot cake. We would jokingly argue all the time about who really could make the best cake. I assured him that my cake was definitely the best. After all, it was my grandma's secret recipe. It had been in the family for years and when ever I made it I got rave reviews.

Finally one day we decided we would need to have a bake off to settle the argument once and for all. Too our surprise as we got out our recipes, we discovered they were exactly the same. I guess my grandma's recipe wasn't so secret. Oh well, we both win. This is definitely the best carrot cake ever.

This particular cake is for my brother Kit's birthday. It seems to be the cake of choice for all the men in my family.


CARROT CAKE
(Courtesy my Grandma Ellen Nordfelt)

2 C. sugar
1 ½ C. veg. oil
4 eggs
2 C. flour
1 t. salt
2 t. soda
1 T. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
¼ t. cloves
3 C. grated carrots
½ C. chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)

1. Mix sugar, oil and eggs until well combined.
2. In a separate bowl sift dry ingredients and add to first mixture.
3. Add carrots and nuts.
4. Pour into (3) 8 inch cake pans, or (2) 9 inch greased and floured* cake pans. (*You can also use parchment cake rounds if you prefer. They are much easier and less messy. You can purchase these at any cake shop or specialty cooking store. I personally just buy parchment paper at the grocery store and cut them to the size of my cake pans.)
5. Bake at 350 for about 1 hour. Check at 45 min. Depending on the exact temperature of your oven it may cook a little faster. Cook until a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
6. Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting. (see recipe below)

Carrot Cake cooking tip:

Carrot cake can be a little tricky for one reason…the carrots. Carrots can be full of water or really dry. Depending on the moisture content of your carrots, you may have to adjust the flour or oil in your cake.

I have found that it’s best to use full sized carrots pealed and grated. They usually have the perfect amount of water. I don’t recommend using the mini snack size carrots. They are very wet and will usually make the batter runny. This will cause your cake to fall. On the other hand if you think your carrots are really dry, you may need to add a little more oil to add some moisture.

Your batter should be slightly thicker than that of a box cake mix. Almost like a banana bread or zucchini bread batter. For a moist cake, you should always error on the side of a little runnier.

I know this may seem difficult, but after some experimentation you’ll get a good feel for what batter consistency works best. In the worst case, your cake may fall but it will still taste really yummy. You can fill in the middle with cream cheese frosting and no one will be the wiser. Trust me, this carrot cake is worth it!

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
(Mindi Original)

1 pkg. 8 oz. cream cheese softened
¼ C. butter softened
2 t. vanilla
4 C.+ powdered sugar
Milk

1. Cream together the cream cheese, butter and vanilla.
2. Mix in 4 cups powdered sugar.
3. Add about ¼ C. milk and blend until combined.
4. Continue to add powdered sugar and milk until desired frosting consistency.