Winter Carrot Cake

I have tried many carrot cakes over the years and this recipe is my all time favorite. It’s super moist and simple to make from scratch due to the use of baby food in lieu of peeling and shredding carrots. I tend to leave the walnuts in larger pieces to provide a lovely crunch and, if they’re to your taste, golden raisins can be added to the batter. I have this cake labeled “winter” because it’s richness, warm cinnamon goodness, and icy decorations ideally suit it to the timing, however, it can obviously be enjoyed during any season with different (or no) garnish. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

CAKE

  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups of sugar
  • 3 small jars of strained carrots baby food
  • 1 flat can of crushed pineapple, well drained
  • 1 ½ cups vegetable oil
  • 2 cups + 2 TBS flour
  • 2 TSP baking soda
  • 2 TSP cinnamon
  • 1 TSP salt
  • 1 TSP vanilla
  • 1 cup roughly chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350º

In a large bowl, cream the eggs and sugar before adding the carrots, pineapple, and oil. In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients and gradually stir into the wet mix. Then add the vanilla and walnuts and stir until combined.

For my cake, I used two 9-inch round pans coated with Baker’s Joy (or you could use grease and flour) so that I could get them cleanly out of the pan to layer them. In my oven, they took around 25 minutes.

Remove when a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean. I look for when the edges start to pull away from the pan.

NOTE:
An easy alternative is to simply bake in a 13 x 9 pan (no grease required) for about 35 minutes and frost and serve in the same dish.

FROSTING

  • 16 oz cream cheese (2 bricks)
  • 8 TBS unsalted butter (1 stick) softened
  • 1 TSP vanilla
  • 2 cups powdered sugar (10x)

Beat the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add the vanilla and slowly beat in the sugar until smooth.

NOTE:
Use less sugar for more cream cheese flavor—check the taste as you add the sweetener.

SUGARED DECORATIONS

  • 1 egg white
  • 2 TBS water
  • 3 TBS Extra fine sugar (granulated sugar blended in a coffee grinder also works)
  • Several sprigs of rosemary
  • Fresh cranberries

Combine the egg white and water to dampen the rosemary and cranberries before sprinkling them with the sugar. Set aside for them to harden/dry before decorating your cake.