CARROT CAKE

Last week my family and friends went camping. I HAD planned on making my "ultimate cake design", but things got in the way so I was only left with a simple cake. Carrot cake is one of those "simple" recipes. I found this new one before and I hadn't make carrot cake for at least 3 years. This one had added ingredients such as pineapple and apple sauce. I don't usually put these "extras" but I was like, "well, hell with it." :P

CARROT CAKE:

4 eggs 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped pecans

Extra Ingredient Tips:
1C white sugar and 1C brown sugar (substitute)
Extra tsp of vanilla
Add one 8oz. can of pineapples (squeezed and blended)
1/4 nutmeg
Extra 1tsp of cinnamon
3/4 C canola oil and 1/2 C apple sauce (substitute)
Any nuts (ex: walnuts, almonds, etc)



1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, apple sauce, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Stir in carrots and pineapples. Fold in nuts. Pour into prepared pan.

3.Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

4. To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped nuts. Frost the cooled cake.



Tips:

-I didn't have Canola oil so I simply used normal vegetable oil. Worked out fine.

-Don't over-beat the mixture or it'll become hard.

-I used tinfoil bread pans so they took a little longer to bake. Most people just use round cake pans.

-Of course, the cake goes better with a cream cheese frosting. :)


Links:

Carrot cake: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/carrot-cake-iii/detail.aspx