The Best Carrot Cake You've Ever Had!

***I guess that you could say this is the cake that started it all!! I made this cake for Brad's birthday...the very first year we were together. It was such a hit, that I've made it countless times for many birthdays over the last few years. My cake baking skills have definitely gotten much better...especially the last few times I've made cakes. This is because of a few new purchases: 1) An icing spatula and 2) A piping bag w/assorted decorating tips. Who would have thought such simple things would make such a big difference!

I had a ton of fun making this cake. I was especially proud of the carrot ribbons on top. I originally posted this recipe HERE, but I wanted to re-post so that I could add a few tips/tricks to the recipe (and show off this pretty creation!).***

Ingredients:

2 c. sugar
2 c. plain flour

1 1/2 c. cooking oil

4 eggs

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. soda

2 tsp. cinnamon

3 c. grated carrots

1/2 c. or more chopped pecans

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Mix sugar, eggs and oil. Beat well. Sift flour and dry ingredients; slowly add to other mixture. Add carrots and nuts.

Divide and pour batter into 3 greased and floured cake pans.

***Tip: I also add parchment paper rounds to the bottom of my cake pans...this keeps the cake from sticking and the results are perfect cake layers every time! First, I grease the pans with Crisco shortening. Then, I add the parchment rounds. I then grease the top of the parchment rounds and then flour the entire pan surface. Here's a video that shows you how.***

Bake 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. Place cake pans on a wire rack and let cool for about 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and continue to cool on rack. Cake layers should be completely cool before attempting to assemble the cake. If not, the cakes will melt the cream cheese icing!

Use Cream Cheese Icing between layers and on top and sides of cake.

Cream Cheese Icing:

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese

1/2 stick margarine

1 box confectioners sugar (10x)

2 tsp. vanilla

Beat cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer until creamy and smooth (I use the paddle attachment on my KitchenAid Stand Mixer). Add vanilla. Slowly add small portions of the confectioners sugar and mix until well blended. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Comments

Anonymous said…

This not only looks sooooo good, but I LOOOVE how you decorated it!! I was thinking of entering my carrott cake recipe in the fair and I think I may take a nod from your beautiful decoration if you don't mind!

August 19, 2008 at 6:29 AM

Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread - Southern Living

***There seriously aren't very many things that smell better than Banana Nut Bread baking in the oven. Don't you agree? This recipe for Cream Cheese Banana Nut Bread from Southern Living magazine was one of the very first recipes that I added to this blog...back in November 2007! In fact, I came across it when I worked for the magazine as a Marketing Intern. Back then, I didn't have a photo for every recipe, and the blog post was simply the recipe and nothing else. Because this is my go-to recipe for Banana Nut Bread (and because it is so amazing!), I thought that it deserved a little more attention. This is quite honestly some of the best Banana Nut Bread that I've ever had. An entire 8oz. package of cream cheese is added right to the batter, along with 4 mashed bananas. The cream cheese adds so much to this recipe, with an incredibly moist texture being the main component. Plus, the roasted pecans are the perfect addition. Roasting the nuts brings out

My Favorite Quiche!

***It's not often that a recipe is worthy of re-posting. I think I've only done that once or twice in the entire time I've written this blog. However, this is one of those rare occasions. Back in 2009 when Brad and I went to Europe, we had the most amazing Quiche Lorraine at the incredible Les Deux Magots cafe in Paris. It was delicious and was served alongside a yummy salad of fresh greens (Quiche Lorraine sur Salade Verte). Oh, it was heaven on a plate! It also didn't hurt that we were sitting on the patio of one of the most famous cafes in Paris, after all...haha. The atmosphere and people-watching in that particular area are hard to beat. I'll never forget the elderly lady that was sitting at the table right next to us (the tables were situated pretty close together). She was dressed to-the-nines, was all by herself, and was just the quintessential, classy Parisian lady. I wish more than anything that I had tried to strike up a conversation with her

Absolutely Sinful Cinnamon Rolls

***Alrighty, here are the cinnamon rolls that I mentioned in my previous post. I put these together on Christmas Eve, and then baked them on Christmas morning. Let me just tell you...there's nothing quite like the smell of yummy cinnamon rolls wafting through the house on Christmas morning...ahhhhh...so wonderful! This is going to be a new tradition for us...fresh, homemade rolls on Christmas. I thought that I might try this recipe, and then maybe try a new one next year...until I found one that I really loved. However, I hit the jackpot on the first try! This is THE recipe that I'll always use. UPDATE: Since originally writing this post in 2008, I've made these cinnamon rolls every year for Christmas! They are a holiday tradition that my family looks forward to all year! You can see my other posts here, with lots more photos of these sinful cinnamon rolls: CHRISTMAS 2009 CHIRSTMAS 2010 CHRISTMAS 2011 The great thing was that I could prepare them on Christmas

Sugar & Spice by Celeste

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