Carrot Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour (sifted), or whole wheat flour, or a combination
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking power
1 tsp. salt
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ cups oil
4 eggs (powdered is fine)
3 cups carrots (grated)
1 ½ to 2 cups pecans (chopped)
12 oz. crushed pineapple (drained)--optional
Preheat oven to 350º.
Sift together all dry ingredients.
Add oil and eggs. Mix well.
Add carrots, pineapple and nuts.
Pour ingredients into a 9 x 13 pan or 2 round 8 inch cake pans. Bake for 60 minutes (check at 50 minutes.)
When cool, frost with the following cream cheese icing:
Cream Cheese frosting:
Cream together:
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 oz cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
Notes:
In the summer I use a combination of zucchini and carrots, or just zucchini. I have also made it into muffins, without the frosting. If you don't have the ingredients for the frosting, it is delicious without any.
This is an excellent recipe to make with whole wheat, substituting part or all of the flour with whole wheat flour.
If you decide to make the cake a double layer round cake, make twice as much icing to allow for the icing in between layers and the extra icing around the outside of the cake.