The Best Delectable Carrot Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

I love carrot cake.  I don't know if I love it for the carrots or that amazing cream cheese frosting, but I love it.  It's also my brother's favorite cake, and so, it was only appropriate that I would make it for his 26th birthday (yes, our birthdays are very close).  Now, I have tried various "Best Carrot Cake" recipes out there, some that are too oily, too dry, too moist and just plain terrible.  This time, I decided I would take parts of various recipes I have tried over the past few years and make my own, and to also make a frosting that you normally don't find on a carrot cake (I have Sprinkles Cupcakes) to thank for that.  I am, if I haven't mentioned it enough times, in love with their carrot cake cupcakes, and well, very much in love with their frosting.  So, I decided I would try to come up with something that tasted as close as possible to theirs as I could.  And, well, I think i've found it.  If you've been following me for a while, you will know, I am a very harsh critic of my cooking and baking and I don't always love, if ever, my own cakes or food.  But this cake is by far the BEST carrot cake I have EVER HAD!  And, I mean EVER!  Now, I know everyone has their versions of this cake (there are a handful out there) and everyone always tweaks things to their liking, but let me tell you, this recipe is perfect.  I've tried this cake with coconut and pineapple and all sorts of other additions, but I think I have found the perfect mix of ingredients! :)

So, here it is:

 The Very Very Best Delectable Carrot Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

 

Cake Ingredients

4 eggs - room temperature

1 1/4 cups unsweetened applesauce

1 cup white sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

2 tsps imitation vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsps baking soda

2 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsps ground cinnamon

3 cups grated and finely chopped carrots

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 cup butter, softened

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

4 cups confectioners' sugar

1 tsp imitation vanilla

2 tsps cinnamon 

Cake Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. 
• Grease and flour 2 round cake pans - I sprayed mine with Pam.
• In a large bowl, beat together the eggs, applesauce, sugars and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. 
• Mix in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. 
• Stir in the carrots. 
• Fold in the walnuts. 
• Pour into your prepared pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. 
• Let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool
  completely.  

Frosting Directions: 

• In a medium bowl, combine the butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and cinnamon. 
• Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. 
• Frost the cooled cake. You can also store the cake in the fridge overnight wrapped in saran wrap.  It tastes much better after a night of cooling. 

Note: In the past, I've always just added the grated carrots straight to the cake mix, but this time, I decided to chop them even further in my food processor and it made the cake taste so much better. Something about not have long strips of carrots I think added to the wonderful texture of the cake.

 

 

I used sweetened coconuts shavings and almond chips to decorate the cake, instead of adding them to the cake mix.

 

 Hope you all enjoy this recipe as much as I did.

Bon Appetite!!