We celebrated Hunter’s birthday this past week and so I made his favorite cake which has kind of become my baking specialty. It takes me a little while to put this all together so it’s always my go-to for special occasions since a little extra love and patience is involved 🙂 I wanted to share this recipe with you since it seems a lot of us are doing more cooking and baking then normal right now!
Ingredients for the cake:
4 eggs
1 1/4 cup 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 of salt
2-3 teaspoons cinnamon (although I go a little heavier on the cinnamon for extra flavor)
3 cups of grated carrots
Optional but highly recommended ingredients: unsweetened coconut, raisins or dried cranberries, chopped walnuts (these items will not make or break the recipe, add what you like and omit what you don’t! I use about a half cup of each of these!)
Ingredients for the frosting:
1/2 cup butter (softened, not melted)
8 oz package of cream cheese (softened, not melted)
4 cups of confectionary sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
Optional: 2-3 teaspoons cinnamon (again, just if you like cinnamon as much as we do, not a necessary part!)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350, grease 2-3 cake pans and set aside (I use three shallow cake pans to make layers but you could totally use two or turn this into cupcakes!). In a large mixing bowl, beat together eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon continuing to beat until smooth. Stir in the carrots (and any other mix in options you choose). Pour the mix evenly among your greased pans. Bake for approximately 30-40 minutes (I start with 30 and check it using a wooden toothpick or skewer to see if the middle comes out clean). The sides should start looking golden brown. If you make cupcakes, I would start with 20 minutes and check on them. While the cake is baking, beat all frosting ingredients together in a separate mixing bowl until smooth and creamy. Side note, I usually put the butter and cream cheese out when I first start so when it’s time to make the frosting it is soft enough for mixing. Let the cake completely cool before assembling and frosting. Since I add all the mix in’s, my cake is sometimes more crumbly which makes the icing a bit harder to frost completely smooth, it may not be the prettiest but it will be delicious!
Best enjoyed with a scoop of vanilla ice cream 🙂
Happy baking!
XO
( Cake Plate & Macrame Table Runner : Anthropologie / Gold Floral Serving Set: BHLDN / Ombre Candles: Meri Meri / Letterboard: Target )
