Carrot Cake Recipe

So as Easter is approaching, I'm thinking what kind of dessert I will whip up for Easter Day. One of my passions is baking & I especially love making & decorating cakes. Last year I made a really good Carrot Cake & will probably do some kind of cake this year. Here is the recipe for the Carrot Cake...

Best Carrot Cake Ever
Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 extra large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
2/3 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
1 pound finely grated carrots
1 cup toasted chopped pecans
1 cup golden raisins
1 batch Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by greasing w/crisco shortening & dust w/flour.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt and nutmeg together in a bowl. Set aside.

Mix the eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk, brown sugar, vanilla, and pineapple together in a large bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until fully incorporated. Stir in the carrots, pecans and raisins just until evenly distributed throughout the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake on the center rack for about 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

For the frosting...

Yummy Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:

16 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange extract
3-4 cups confectioners’ sugar to taste

Directions:

Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Add extracts and beat just until incorporated. Beat in sugar, one cup at a time, until frosting has the flavor and consistency you want. You may not need to add all of the sugar.



Frost first layer of cake then, add 2nd layer on top & frost entire rest of cake.
Get ready for rave reviews!