April 4, 2022 - Happy International Carrot Day!
Carrots are AWESOME! And especially Alaskan Carrots. There is just something about our locally grown carrots that have a much brighter and sweeter flavor than carrots coming in from the lower 48.
And yes, a carrot dipped in hummus is a wonderful snack. And roasted carrots with other veg and some garlic and seasonings...yum. But let's talk about how to really celebrate this crunchy favorite...
3-Layer Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting!!!
(My cake topper turned out very Tim Burton-esque)
Carrot Cake
Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
4 large eggs
2 cups AP flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp nutmeg
3 cups finely grated and peeled carrots
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F.
Lightly grease three 9-inch cake pans, line bottom of pans with parchment, lightly grease parchment.
Beat sugar and vegetable oil until combined.
Add eggs one and a time, beating well after each addition.
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg into sugar/oil mixture.
Stir in carrots, pecans and raisins.
Pour batter into prepared pans, dividing equally.
Bake about 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean and cakes begin to pull away from sides of pans.
Cool about 15 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to further cool.
Frosting
Ingredients
4 cups powdered sugar
2 8-oz packages cream cheese, room temp
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temp
4 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth and combined, add powdered sugar and vanilla and beat until frosting fully combined. Frost when cake is completely cooled.
Cake should be refrigerated, serve cold or at room temp.
ENJOY!!!
For more info on International Carrot Day, visit: https://nationaltoday.com/international-carrot-day/