(The Best!) Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
Moist cake sprinkled with tasty walnuts topped with a thick and rich cream cheese icing...you will never use your old recipe again!
I'm embarrassed that it has been so long since I have posted. I cannot even say that I haven't been...quite the opposite actually. I have been baking up a storm - fresh apples from the tree, zucchini from the garden, rhubarb from coworkers!! During a lovely lunch today with my SIL, who also blogs, she encouraged me to get back to it.
I had been waiting months to share this delicious recipe with you only to drop the ball once I had taken the photos. I do not make it too often but It has become an annual tradition to make it for my pal Britt for her birthday. She was also gracious enough to allow me to slice into it so that I could show you the inside prior to giving it to her.
I met Britt when I was a student needing to complete my social work practicum. She went from being my mentor to my coworker to my work-wife to someone I'm pleased to call one of my best friends in a very short period of time. Early into our friendship, Britt got married and asked if I would check in on her cats while she was off at her destination wedding. I felt that saying yes would really seal the friendship deal and took the job quite seriously. On my first trip to her house, in the dead of winter, to check in on her sweet little furballs I could not get into the house. The key that she gave me did not work. I obviously panicked and prior to messaging her many miles away I tried to problem solve on my own by calling her friends with additional keys, trying to enter the home in other ways, bringing a strapping gentleman with me to muscle the door open etc etc. When this did not work and on the verge of a complete meltdown I sheepishly messaged her on facebook and disclosed that I had not been able to enter the home. I'm not sure why I though that she would have a solution from thousands of miles away as clearly she did not...maybe I was hoping that she would say that the cats will be fine???? but nope! She responded in all caps something to the extent of OMGGGGGGGG GET INTO SEE MY CATS!!!!!!!! In the end, I was able to enter the home a few days later only to find the cats perfectly fine ANDDDDD the food bag had actually on the floor with the top wide open so there was really no chance of starvation. However, rather then eating the cat kibble (??) they ripped into a bag of icing sugar and ate that/paw printed all over the room. Cleaning up the icing sugar was a small price to pay for not killing her fur-children. I took a proof of life photo to send to her so that she knew that all was well on the home front..the cat looks less then thrilled #catsitterforhire.
Awhile ago, Britt left our job for a great opportunity. This led to the End of an Era (Monica and Rachel style) for the two of us who had become a power-duo at work proudly serving our families. This really made me reflect on all of the amazing and crazy memories we had made over the past 5 years working together...a rat running over my foot, falling down the stairs in the rain, finding a house full of parrots, getting stuck in a snowbank, and calls with cute WPS officers....just to name a few. I initially felt that perhaps I had taken for granted the fact that I had the luxury of coming to work each day to a partner who not only had my back no matter what and in whatever crisis we found ourselves but had become my best friend, sounding board, and non-judgmental shoulder cry on. On the last day on the job, we unknowingly to each-other, had prepared separate goodbye letters which ended up containing reference to the exact same memories...proof in my eyes that the memories and experiences that I cherished so much meant equally as much to her as they did to me.
Making Britt a cake this year was extra special as it was our first birthday celebration outside of the workplace. In the days leading up to the big day, I asked what I could get her and after probing quite a few times she asked if I would make her this cake....I had assumed it was a given...or maybe she was just double checking ;) ...who could blame her! It is truly the best carrot cake I have ever eaten.
This recipe is from my mom's cookbook. She has been making it since I was quite young and I can't ever remember having any other type of carrot cake in our family home. I actually assumed that all carrot cakes were like my mom's until I ordered carrot cake for dessert at a restaurant once and thought..what the heck is this...Type this carrot cake and I promise that you will never go back to your old recipe! This cake can be made in a 9"x13" pan or two 9” round pans for a layer cake. Both turn out lovely and just as delicious!! The original recipe calls for 1.5 cups of oil which is an awful lot! I have had good success subbing in 1/2 a cup of apple sauce to replace 1/2 a cup of the oil.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups Flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
4 eggs
1 cups vegetable oil
1/2 cup apple sauce
2 cups white sugar
2 cups grated carrots
½ cup walnuts
1 pkg cream cheese
¼ cup butter
4 cups icing sugar
DIRECTIONS:
This cake comes together to easily you do not even need to use a mixer for the batter. In a bowl, combine sugar and oil. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add in the vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Make a well in the bowl of dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into this bowl. Fold the batter until combined. Add in the grated carrots and the walnuts (if desired).
Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes
You will know that the cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean and when you can touch the top and it bounces back.
Once cool, beat cream cheese and butter then sift in the icing sugar. Add more or less icing sugar to achieve your desired consistency. This is the same recipe as our red velvet cream cheese frosting recipe that I previously posted.
Frost your cake! If you are making a layered cake I recommend putting walnuts on the side. That way you don't even need to worry about how perfect your icing is!! If you are making a 9"x13" cake you can add some chopped walnut or a dash of cinnamon to the top of the frosting for decoration.
Enjoy!