I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! I hosted dinner at my house for my family and we have a fantastic day. I made ham with a beautiful spiced cherry glaze, green beans, cheesy potatoes, macaroni salad (a special request from my oldest!), fresh rolls and, of course, carrot cake for dessert.
In all honesty, I've never made homemade carrot cake before. I don't know why, I just haven't. But I was super excited to make it for Easter and couldn't wait for my family to try it.
I was inspired by a recipe from Saveur magazine and the cake and homemade frosting is absolutely to die for. This is a perfect Spring cake, and one I will be making for many years to come.
Enjoy!
Classic Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Recipe adapted from Saveur Magazine
Ingredients:
3/4 cup canola oil
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
3 tsp pure vanilla extract (2 tsp for cake and 1 tsp for frosting)
4 eggs
2 cups finely grated carrots (I used a box grater and 4 large carrtos; depending on the size of your carrots you may use more or less)
1 cup canned pineapple chunks, drained and chopped
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
½ cup golden raisins
8 oz. low fat cream cheese, at room temp
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temp
3 cups powdered sugar
Heat you oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour a 9" x 13" baking pan.
In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, and set aside.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together oil, sugar, buttermilk, 2 tsp. vanilla, and eggs. Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Now stir in the carrots, pineapple, walnuts, coconut, and raisins.
Pour the batter into your prepared pan and smooth out the top. Bake for approximately 40 minutes, until the top is slightly browned and a cake testes inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool completely before frosting. (I made my cake one evening, then frosted it the next morning)
In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add the remaining 1 tsp. vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until fluffy. Spread the frosting over the cake and refrigerate.
Bon Appetit!
You know there is nothing better than a classic carrot cake. Oh how I miss the splurge. Thanks for sharing on Foodie Friends Friday.
ReplyDeleteYour co host from Nosh My Way.
This looks amazing! Love the frosting! Thank you for sharing with Foodie Friends Friday! Hope to see you next week!
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