Carrot Cake!

This is my carrot cake recipe that I have made for years, ever since I first got married actually.   It seems that usually when I post cake recipes, they are always someone else's...my mother's, my aunt's, but this one is actually my own.  Now, I am sure when I first made it I found it in a cookbook someplace, but I have adapted it to suit my own tastes. 

 This was one of the first cakes I remember making that got compliments and people would ask me for the recipe.  I have always considered myself more of a cook than a baker, so years ago I was excited to find a cake I seemed to do well.    

There are multitudes of carrot cake recipes and every one seems to use different ingredients.  Some have pineapple, some raisins, some even coconut, but I really like a carrot cake that is fairly straight forward and has mainly carrots in it.   That is this recipe.   I also don't like too many spices in my carrot cake, just a lot of cinnamon and a touch of vanilla. 

 Here is what you will need for my carrot cake:

1  1/2 cups oil

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1  1/2 tsp. baking soda

1  tsp. salt

2 tsp. cinnamon

4 large eggs

3 cups raw, finely grated carrots

1/2 cups walnuts, chopped

Frosting:

1 (8 oz.) pkg cream cheese (softened)

2 Tbs. butter

1  (1 lb.) box of confectioner's sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup walnuts, chopped (2 cups if you press them around the outside layers of the cake like I did)

Preheat over to 350 degrees.

Beat oil and sugar together in a mixing bowl. Sift together all of the dry ingredients.  Stir half of the dry ingredients into the oil and sugar mixture.  

Add the other half of the dry ingredient alternating with the eggs, mixed in one at a time.  Mix well after each addition.  Add the vanilla, carrots and 1/2 cup nuts and mix well.

Pour into 3  9" cake pans lined with parchment or wax paper and sprayed well with nonstick baking spray.   You can also bake this in 2  9" baking pans or in a 9"x13" pan.  You will need to increase the baking times. 

If using three 9" pans, bake for 25-27 minutes.   Remove from oven and allow to cool. 

Prepare cream cheese frosting while cakes cool.  Beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until fluffy.   Add in the confectioners sugar and vanilla and beat until smooth.  Mix in the chopped nuts, unless you are pressing them around the sides of the cake.  This takes more nuts, so you will need about 2 cups. 

Turn the cakes out onto a cake plate and frost as you desire.