Sunday, May 28, 2023

Old Fashioned Carrot Cake


First of all, I can't believe I haven't posted this recipe yet; shame on me!  Second, I have no clue where this recipe came from, but it has been in my mom's recipe cards since I can remember.  I have done research to try and track down its origins (Wesson oil ad? some old cookbook?), but unfortunately I have come up empty-handed.  Regardless, this cake is fantastic, and I've been happily eating it my entire life.  Nothing fancy, no raisins or pineapple or coconut, just carrots and spices with a cream cheese frosting.

Note: You can use walnuts instead of pecans, but seeing as this is the South, it's always pecans in my kitchen.

Old Fashioned Carrot Cake

1 cup canola oil
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
3 cups finely grated carrots
Cream Cheese Frosting
1½ cups chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease well two 9-inch round cake pans.

Beat together the oil, sugar, salt, eggs, and spices. Mix the flour with the baking soda, and stir in. Add the carrots, and mix until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.

Bake the cakes for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Remove the layers from the pans after about 15 minutes, and place them on a rack to cool. Allow the cakes to cool completely before frosting.

Mix chopped pecans into Cream Cheese Frosting, frost the top of one layer, top with the second layer, and frost the top and sides of the cake.

Makes 16 servings

Cream Cheese Frosting

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 (1-pound) box powdered sugar (about 3½ cups)
Milk or cream to adjust consistency of frosting, if necessary

Beat the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add the salt and vanilla. Beat in the sugar. Add a teaspoon of milk or cream if the frosting is too stiff to spread; add additional sugar if it's too thin.

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