This is the most requested recipe I own. Every time I bake this cake and take it to share, I am asked for this recipe. Even if you don't like carrot cake, you should try it, you won't be sorry. This is my father-in-law's birthday cake. He doesn't even like cake. He made the comment before he went to bed tonight that he'd most likely have it for breakfast in the morning.
I don't put raisins in it, I'm not a a big raisin fan. I do put pecans in it though, that's what the dark pieces are that you'll see in the next photo.
*Just a tip, I use the Chicago Metallic shiny pans to bake with. They are a light silver pan, not the dark non-stick pans. If you use lighter colored pans, your cake will turn out lighter in color and in my opinion, more moist.
Carrot Cake
Whisk together:
3 C. (13.5 oz for those who weigh instead of measure) flour***explanation below
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 1/4 C. sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 C. chopped nuts (I use pecans)
pinch of nutmeg
In another bowl, mix together:
1 C. salad oil
2 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
2 C. grated carrots
1 1/2 C. crushed pineapple with juice
Pour wet ingredients into whisked flour mixture and blend until equally moist. Pour into round pans and bake at 325 degrees for approx. 1 hour. (If you take your cakes out of the oven when there are still moist crumbs on a toothpick, that is perfect. I never wait until the toothpick comes out clean because by then, the cakes will be too dry. And this applies to any cake I make.)
Remove cakes from oven and let cool on wire rack for 10 minutes before inverting cake onto wire rack to cool completely.
Once cakes have completely cooled, frost with cream cheese frosting and serve.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Cream together:
1 stick softened butter and
1 8oz. package cream cheese
then add 1 lb. (16 oz.) powdered sugar and
1 tsp vanilla
and beat until smooth.
***Edit*** I have been getting some questions about measuring versus weighing flour, so I thought I'd put in this little excerpt from one of the emails I sent out to help.
Truth be told, I weigh my flour because I'm lazy. It's much easier to dump a load of flour onto my scale than to put it by spoonfuls into a measuring cup. Also, if you think about it, if you measure your flour, sometimes you may pack it in more than other times and wonder why your cake didn't rise as well, or the texture was off, or the flavor just wasn't there, or it sinks in the middle. I get consistently good cakes and baked goods when I weigh my flour instead of measuring it. One resource I highly recommend is the King Arthur Baker's Companion, not only does it have great recipes, it has great baking tips. Also, I only buy their flour, it really does make a difference! If you read a little on their site about the protein content of flour and how if that percentage is too high that will affect baked goods, you'll understand why. Hope that helps!
