This carrot cake is very popular at all our family gatherings. My dad loves this, and of course my 5 year old daughter loves it to. But then she never met a sweet she didn’t like to eat. This sweet however has many healthy properties. It contains pineapple for vitamin C, walnuts, which provide the Omega-3′s, and of course carrots, which are high in beta carotene and have antifungal properties. I use a cream cheese frosting for this, and it also is nice with some coconut on top of the frosting. However, for Easter, I went sans coconut.
RECIPE:
3 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil (expeller pressed if possible)
1 cup light brown sugar, packed (I prefer the brownulated sort if you can find it)
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
2 cups all purpose flour
2 T baking powder
2 1/2 cups grated carrots (use your food processor to save tons of time)
1/3 c crushed pineapple
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
tsp cinnamon – optional
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 pan
In a mixing bowl beat the eggs; add the oil and beat. Add the brown sugar and beat till smooth. Beat in the, vanilla and cinnamon. Add in the combined flour and baking powder, and beat till combined. Then add the carrots, pineapple, raisins and nuts gently to combine.
Spread the batter evenly in the cake pan, Bake for 40-45 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Cream Cheese Icing:
8 oz. softened cream cheese
3 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
1-2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste, to taste
3 cups 10x sugar
1 tsp lemon juice
In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Incorporate the 10x sugar a cup at a time; add the lemon juice into the frosting and beat till smooth. Add more sugar, if needed, to thicken or more juice to thin.
Frost the cake.
ENJOY!!
