Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

I don't normally make cake from scratch.  I am more of a Betty Crocker cake out of a box kind of girl, but I had the fun idea of making homemade carrot cake.  The carrots from our garden were the inspiration behind the cake.

                           

We also planned a cookout with Brian's family so it just seemed to be perfect timing to make the cake.  I thought it would make a wonderful dessert for our end of the summer cookout.

Here is the recipe I used:

Ingredients for cake-

4 eggs

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

2 cups sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt 

2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped pecans (optional.  I don't like nuts so I left them out.)

Ingredients for icing-

1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions-

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan (I used two 9" round pans since I wanted it to be layered)
• In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, sugar, and vanilla.  Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.  Stir in carrots.  Fold in pecans.  Pour into prepared pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 40 - 50 minutes (I baked them for about 35 since I did it in two pans), or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
• To make icing: in a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, and vanilla.  Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy.  Stir in chopped pecans.  frost the cooled cake.

This cake turned out pretty good.  It was definitely kid approved!  Sofia wanted seconds.

 

Enjoy!