Carrot Cake

Ingredients:

Cake

• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 2/3 cups sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup apple sauce
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups carrots, shredded
• 1 cup pecans, chopped

Frosting

• 2 8 ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 6-6 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Rub some unsalted butter around the sides and in the bottom of 3 8 inch round cake pans. Then flour the pans. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars, oil, eggs, apple sauce and vanilla.
3. In a separate medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and spices.
4. Add the pecans to a small mixing bowl along with 1 tablespoon of the dry mixture. Toss and set aside.  
5. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture. Whisk together until just combined.
6. Fold the pecans and carrots into the batter.
7. Divide the cake mix evenly into your prepared pans. Bake for about 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
8. Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan. Remove the pans and cut the domes off of the tops, for flat and even layers. You can freeze the cakes overnight before doming to prevent a lot of crumbs.

Frosting

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. Mix in the vanilla.
2. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time until gone, mixing well after each addition.

Assembling the Cake

1. Add a dollop of the frosting to a cake stand or serving platter. Place the bottom layer. This will keep the cake from moving around during assembly.
2. Add a thick, even layer of the frosting to first cake layer. Repeat until all layers have been assembled.
3. Cover the cake in the frosting and smooth the sides and the top.
4. You can press some additional pecans onto the bottom half of the cake, if desired. You can also pipe some swirls onto the top. You can also add some pecans to the middle of the swirls, as pictured above.

*Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

*This cake recipe will make about 24 cupcakes, if you would like to make them instead. The baking time and temperature is the same. Allow them to cool completely before frosting. Frost with a star tip or a round tip, then sprinkle additional pecans.

*If anyone in the family has nut allergies, you can just remove the pecans from the recipe. You will still have a delicious cake.

Serves: 6-8