Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Early in my marriage, I made a carrot cake that was the best carrot cake I had ever had.  I got it from one of my cookbooks, but unfortunately for me, I have a million of them and don't know which cookbook it was from.  Wishing I had a brilliant mind, or at least brilliant memory at times like this.  

So, rather than driving myself into the cuckoo's nest by looking through my cookbooks, I went to the trusty internet.  After looking, I settled on this cake.  Made a few changes per people's comments and went to work.  I got it whipped up and put it into my 8" pans and into the oven it went.  That's when it happened.  Disaster struck.  Overflowing abundance of cake, spilling, burning, smoke alarms, and a very stinky house later, my cakes came out of the oven.   They remained unscathed, but I can not say the same thing for my oven or house.   Stinking cake!  

So do not attempt 8 inch cake pans, please.  Unless of course, you want to be as successful as I am to stink up your house before guests come over.  Then, by all means, use an 8 inch pan.

This cake was very moist and dense, but very tasty.   I will not say it is the perfect carrot cake, but it was surely very good.  The icing was delicious.  This was the cake rising from the ashes, and against all odds (or my mad baking skills, emphasis on "mad"), it was delish and gone in 2 days.

CARROT CAKE

inspired by:  http://allrecipes.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 eggs
• 1- 4 oz. cup drained applesauce
• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
•  3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup drained crushed pineapple
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups grated carrots
• 1 cup chopped pecans or raisins

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan or two 9 inch cake pans.  In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, applesauce, sugars and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Mix into sugar mixture.  Stir in carrots and then the pecans or raisins. Pour into prepared pan(s).  Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. 

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

INGREDIENTS:

• 1- 8oz. pkg light cream cheese, room temp
• 1 stick butter- room temp
• 4-5 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 tsp milk

DIRECTIONS:


Beat the butter and cream cheese for 2-3 minutes.  Add half the sugar, the vanilla and mix, slowly, increasing speed as you mix.  Add remaining sugar and milk and beat until creamy, making sure to scrape the bowl to make sure it is all mixed well.  Add more sugar if needed to stiffen up.