Easy (and yummy) carrot cake!

I promise you that not only will you find this cake easy to make but also absolutely delicious! Yummy, yummy and yummy! My husband is not too fond of sweet stuff but even he loved this one! I’ve made this twice now and it turned out equally delicious both the times. What does it say about the recipe – foolproof! Look at the texture – so soft and just the right balance of walnuts. Oh and the frosting – is the icing on the cake (pun intended ).

There are two persons that come to my mind when I make carrot cake. One is my aunt. When I came to the US, she came to visit us and she brought loads of (home made) carrot cake because she knew I loved her carrot cake. The cake was perfectly wrapped and packaged into smaller segments so that we could eat in installments and freeze the rest. Other is my brother. Because he too loved (don’t know if he still does) my aunt’s carrot cake. So I’m glad I can make a decent carrot cake now

The recipe is from King Arthur flour. As most of my baking recipes are.

Ingredients:

cake

• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (I did not have this at home)
• 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour or King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 3 cups finely grated carrots
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans or walnuts

frosting

• 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter
• one 8-ounce package cream cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla OR 1/2 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia
• 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups glazing sugar or confectioners' sugar

Instructions

1. To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9" x 13" pan with parchment paper and grease the sides.
2. Beat together the oil, sugar, salt, eggs, and spices. Mix the flour with the baking soda, and stir in. Add the carrots and nuts, and mix until just blended. Pour into the prepared pan.
3. Bake the cake(s) for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. It took the cake around 55 minutes in my oven to be done.
4. Allow the cake(s) to cool completely before frosting.
5. To make the frosting: Beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add the salt and vanilla. Beat in the sugar. Add a teaspoon of milk or cream if the frosting is too stiff to spread; add additional sugar if it's too thin.
6. Frost the sheet cake right in the pan.
7. If you’ve frosting leftover then jus freeze it. Next time you make this cake, take out the frosting from the freezer and keep it in the fridge a minimum of 24 hours in advance.