The Perfect Carrot Cake

 

I have been on a quest for quite some time for the best carrot cake. Carrot cake has always been my favorite and this recipe does a great job highlighting all the great things about it. I may be exaggerating a bit by saying this is a perfect carrot cake, but it's pretty darn close to it.I adapted this from the Pioneer Woman's recipe and it is a real winner. It has a nice cinnamon flavor and very moist texture along with a great frosting on top. I tried this out on my family and they seemed to enjoy it quite a bit!

This cake recipe calls for:

2 cups of white sugar

1 cup of vegetable oil

1 teaspoon of coconut extract

4 eggs

2 cups of all purpose flour

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 teaspoon of baking soda

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of salt

2 cups of grated carrots

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1/2 cup raisins

 Combine the oil, sugar, eggs, and coconut extract in a large bowl.

In another bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon.


Grate the carrots using a food processor or a hand grater. If you choose the hand grater option, make sure you are smarter than me and don't grate your hand. It delays the eating of the cake part a bit.









Take the carrots, raisins and chopped nuts ( I used almonds) and stir them up in the dry ingredients. This ensures they won't stick together in a lump or fall to the bottom of the batter. Nut and raisin equality for all!

Combine the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in about three batches. Just stir until it is combined. This is the part where you need to remind yourself of the four eggs in this mixture and the possibility of salmonella. Don't eat the batter.

Pour into a greased 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out cleanly.

 You could top this with any icing but cream cheese is traditional and most delicious.

Combine:
8 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 cup of butter
1 teaspoon of coconut extract
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
3 to 4 cups of powdered sugar.

I like my icing to not be too sweet, but if you like a firmer and sweeter icing add more powdered sugar. The coconut extract is not mandatory, but it is a nice addition.

 

Ice the cake when it has cooled with as much or as little of the icing as you like. I enjoy a thick layer on mine so that is what mine included. I hope you enjoy!