Carrot Cake

Who doesn't love carrot cake? Family members love it because it's delicious, and we Moms love it because it sneaks lots of veggies and so forth into the kids and hubby. Really, it's a win-win. I tweaked this recipe a little to make it a tiny bit healthier (but not much).

CARROT CAKE

1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup vegetable oil
3 cups shredded carrot
1/2 cup chopped walnut

In a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, powder, soda, salt and cinnamon with a wire whisk. Add the eggs, vanilla and oil, and beat for 30 seconds to combine, then 2 minutes until smooth. Stir in the shredded carrot and walnuts. Turn into two greased layer cake pans, and bake at 350F for 30 to 35 minutes, until a knife or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes, then remove from the pan to a cooling rack.
When completely cooled, frost with:

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

8 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups confectioner's sugar

Beat until smooth; you might need up to 1 cup more powdered sugar to give the frosting enough body. Enough for filling and frosting one cake.

This is a very filling cake with a very rich frosting. It actually lasted 2 days, which is some kind of record in our house. It's not that everyone didn't love it; they just took small slices because it was so filling. That's a bonus in my book.

Next time, I'll be trying it with egg substitute, to see how it tastes. I'll also be baking it in a 13"x9" pan, because I really hate fussing with layers. Picky, picky, picky, right?