Famous Carrot Cake 26-Jun-2011

Categories: desserts Tags: carrots cake cream-cheese-frosting

My mom got this recipe out of a newspaper ages and ages ago and it’s been a perennial favourite of our family for a long time, and on to other families as well. My friend, Marina, made some glorious modifications to it by adding chopped candied ginger pieces to the batter. Truly a work of art!

Doing most of the prep work in a food processor makes this an easy recipe. I remember grating carrots as a kid and getting my hands all bloody in the process. Still, I did it gratefully and would do it again if I didn’t have a handy food processor.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup cooking oil
  • 3 cups grated carrots (do them in a food process after peeling them)
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup chopped nuts (walnuts are best) (You can chop these in the food processor as well, just not too fine)

  • 1 cup crushed pineapple, drained

  • Marina’s addition: chopped candied ginger, about 1/2 a cup

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350&degF;

  2. Sift dry ingredients together in food processor bowl.

  3. Add oil and eggs

  4. Blend in food processor until smooth batter forms

  5. Add in the carrots, nuts and pineapple, pulse a few times to get it mixed thoroughly, but you don’t want to pulverize them!

  6. Pour batter into an ungreased 9x13 pan and spread evenly

  7. Bake at 350&degF; for 40-45 minutes.

Cream cheese frosting

  • 8 oz package of cream cheese, softened
  • 1 lb box of xxxx fine sugar
  • 2 tsps vanilla
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1/2 cup raisins

  1. Mix all together in the food processor again making sure not to pulvarize the raisins

  2. Frost cake when cool