Carrot Cake Simple and Easy

Carrot Cake: The Perfect Dessert For Any Occasion

Have you had to come up with a dessert for your dinner party or even a birthday cake? I have the perfect solution for you, why not try a homemade carrot cake with a rich cream cheese icing that is bursting with flavors of vanilla and fresh zest of lemon. I have made these cakes numerous times for my own dinner parties, and if any of my friends who have a birthday, they always receive a homemade carrot cake.
I hope you try this recipe for your next special occasion, and trust me it will be a winner for anytime occasion.


Carrot Cake Ingredients:

3 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of baking soda
2 tablespoons of cinnamon
1 1/2 cups of olive oil
4 extra large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons of vanilla
1 1/2 cups of shelled walnuts, chopped.( I like to toast my walnuts in a pan for about 1 min.)
2 cups of finely grated carrots
1 1/2 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
1 cup of drained crushed pineapple

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz cream cheese, at room temp.
6 Tablespoons of unsalted butter, room temp.
2 1/2 cups of confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla
2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice
1 zest of a lemon

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, Butter two 9 inch cake pans and line the bottom with parchment paper and butter on top of the parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl sift together the dry ingredients. Add the oil, eggs and vanilla beat well. Fold in the chopped walnuts, coconut, carrots and pineapple.

Pour batter into pans. Set on the middle of the rack in the oven and bake for 45 - 50 minutes. Bake until the edges of the cake have pulled away from the sides and a tooth pick or knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Place on a cake rack and cool till room temp.

To prepare the cake frosting, cream together the cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl. Slowly sift in the confectioners sugar and the lemon zest and beat until mixture is free of lumps. Stir in the vanilla and lemon juice and mix well.

Once the cakes have cooled on the cake rack its time to frost, take first cake and turn upside down and frost the first layer add the second cake and begin frosting the cake starting from the top and work around to the sides.

Decorating a carrot cake is very simple, I have seen the carrots piped on top but I like to add what ingredients the cake has. On top of the cake after I frost it, I add chopped walnuts and smaller chunks of pineapple which gives a great presentation. Your guests will have a idea what is inside the cake. If you want, you can add sugar carrot strips to the cake with the chopped walnuts and chunks of pineapple.