“Wow”, “Delicious”, “Amazing”, “Scrumptious”, “the best Carrot Cake I have ever tasted”, those were just a few of the comments we got when Daria made this dessert for Grandma Bernice’s 90th birthday (Uncle Doug’s mom). Digging through my scrap book she found this recipe and tweaked it a bit (left out the raisins – “too much like fruitcake”, cut down the sugar – mom’s request and added different nuts) to fit the ingredients we had on board. It was really good! Please don’t save making this cake for a special occasion! Make it today, because it’s that good! Thanks Daria for discovering this new favorite!!

Ingredients for the Cake:
4 cups of carrots, peeled and grated (a zucchini can also be added if you are short on carrots)
2 cups of nuts (your choice) finely chopped
2 cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons. of spices (your choice of cinnamon, cloves, ginger, cardamon, nutmeg)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
4 large eggs
1 cup canola oil (if you want to cut the oil to 3/4 cup, add in a 1/4 cup of ground flaxseed to retain the moistness and give it a little more nutritional heft)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tbls. vanilla extract

Ingredients for the Icing:
– 1 8oz container of cream cheese
– 1/2 cup of unsalted butter, softened
– 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
– 2-3 cups of confectioners sugar
Mix butter and cream cheese in blender. Add sugar one cup at a time. Add in vanilla and beat till a spreadable consistency. Refrigerate at least an hour before using.

Directions:
– combine carrots and nuts in a bowl and set aside.
– combine flour, spices, salt, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl, set aside.
– In a mixer blend together sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla till well blended.
– Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir till just blended
– Add carrot/nut mixture to the blender and mix just until incorporated. Don’t over-mix the batter.
– Pour into a deep 9” greased and floured cake pan and bake at 325F for about an hour to an hour and ten minutes. The cake is ready when it pulls slightly away from the pan and is nicely browned on top. Use a toothpick to test the center of the cake.
– Let cool on a wire rack for at least 1/2 hour. Frost with Cream Cheese Icing and Enjoy!!