Recipe for Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake was a tradition in my family. We always made it for my father’s birthday. My father doesn’t care for crowds, and I never remember going out for his birthday celebrations. Once, we threw him a party when he turned 40. But otherwise, his birthdays were a stay at home affair.

My mother would also make this carrot cake. Which was odd given on everyone else’s birthdays, we ate a lot of store-bought cakes (especially ice cream cakes) or my maternal grandma, the family cake baker and decorator, would make them.

Food processors are genius when making this cake. I have memories of using a cheese grater to grate carrots. Now, I just throw all those carrots in my food processor, and wham, they’re shredded.

This cake stood the test of time with my taste buds. It’s delicious.

Carrot Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup cooking oil
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups grated carrots
1/4 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans) (optional)
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Frosting:

8 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 cup softened butter
2 cups powdered sugar
lemon juice or milk as needed
chopped nuts to top cake (optional)

In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients together: sugar, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs together. Then add the eggs, cooking oil, and vanilla to the dry ingredients. Mix well. Add the carrots. Gently mix it again and make sure all the carrots are evenly distributed into the batter. Fold in raisins and nuts.

Grease a 9×13 cake pan. Pour the batter into the cake pan.

Cook the cake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool before adding the frosting.

To make the frosting, mix cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, and lemon juice (or milk).

Apply frosting to the cooled cake. Top with nuts and enjoy.