Most Wonderful Carrot Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, beat sugars, eggs, oil, applesauce and vanilla until well blended. In another bowl, whisk flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, allspice and baking soda; gradually beat into sugar mixture. Stir in carrots and walnuts., Pour into a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack., For frosting, in a small bowl, beat cream cheese, milk and vanilla until fluffy. Add confectioners' sugar and salt; beat until smooth. Spread over top of cake. Top with additional walnuts, if desired. Store in the refrigerator.

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• 2. Mix together dry ingredients for cake.
• 3. Mix oil, eggs & vanilla together, then mix with carrots. And add to dry ingredients.
• 4. Blend well & pour into 2 well prepared 9 inch round pans. (I find it's best to use nonstick pans sprayed w/Pam cooking spray, and dusted with flour.
• 5. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until done. (You want it to be moist but for the knife to come out clean).
• 6. Allow them to cool in pans for 10 minutes or so .. and then take them out to completely cool on racks before frosting.
• 7. For Frosting:
• 8. Blend softened cream cheese and butter.
• 9. Add remaining sifted powdered sugar, vanilla & pecans and blend well.
• 10. Frost top of 1 layer, then top with 2nd layer and frost sides and top of cake.
• 11. PLEASE NOTE: It's very important to serve this cake at room temperature. I have often prefered carrot cake cold or refridgerated .. but not this one. It is best left out in covered cake dish. Also .. I've tried experimenting by toasting the pecans and preparing 3 layer cake using 8inch pans ... but I've found that the recipe is best just AS IS (2 layer cake with UN-toasted pecans).
• 12. Lastly, I believe one of the things that makes this cake so wonderful .. is that the nuts are in the icing instead of the cake. Gives it such a rich texture and doesn't pull moisture from the cake. Also, I don't recommend preparing this in a bundt pan. It will work but is much better as a double layered cake: )

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line the bottoms of 3 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper and grease with nonstick spray.
• Make the cake: Grate the carrots on the large holes of a box grater. You should have about 6 cups.
• In a large bowl, combine the grated carrots and buttermilk and stir until the carrots are completely coated.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the all-purpose and whole wheat flours, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, salt, baking soda, cloves, allspice and nutmeg.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer), combine the brown and granulated sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Beat on medium speed until the mixture drips from the whisk in ribbons, about 3 minutes.
• With the mixer running on medium speed, slowly drizzle in the vegetable oil, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through, if necessary. Continue mixing until the mixture is fully emulsified, about 2 minutes.
• Add ⅓ of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. Add ½ of the carrot mixture and continue mixing on low speed until incorporated. Continue alternating adding the flour and carrot mixture. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a flat rubber spatula to bring the batter together.
• Evenly divide the batter between the prepared cake pans.
• Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let the cakes cool for about 10 minutes, then remove from the pans and let cool completely.
• Make the frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer), cream together the butter, cream cheese, vanilla extract, salt, and vanilla bean seeds until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the powdered sugar and continue mixing until silky and smooth, about 4 minutes.
• Assemble the cake: Dab a bit of frosting on a cake board and place a cake layer on top. Scoop 1 cup of frosting onto the cake. Repeat with the remaining 2 layers. Use the remaining frosting to coat the top of the cake completely, leaving the sides naked.
• Slice and serve.
• Enjoy!