best. carrot. cake. ever.
I used to make a cake very similar to this but this looks even better. I used pecans instead of walnuts. Pecans and carrot cake seem to go together. Either way, it is wonderful!! I found this version on the Baby Gizmo Blog. http://blog.babygizmo.com/2012/04/best-carrot-cake-ever/ She adapted it from Southern Living October 1997. Aren't we all good at sharing?
prep time
45 Min
cook time
30 Min
method
Bake
yield
8-16 serving(s)
Ingredients
- FOR CAKE:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon, ground
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups sugar
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups carrots, grated
- 8 ounces crushed pineapple, drained
- 3 1/2 ounces coconut, flaked
- 1 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped
- FOR THE BUTTERMILK GLAZE:
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 cup margarine or butter
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon corn syrup, light
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- FOR THE FROSTING:
- 3/4 cup margarine or butter, softened
- 11 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
How To Make best. carrot. cake. ever.
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Step 1Line 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with wax paper; lightly grease and flour wax paper. Set pans aside.
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Step 2Stir together flour, soda, salt and cinnamon. Set aside.
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Step 3Beat eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk and vanilla at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add flour mixture, beating at low speed until blended. Fold in carrot, coconut, pinapple and nuts.
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Step 4Pour batter into prepared cake pans.
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Step 5Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Drizzle Buttermilk Glaze (recipe below) evenly over layers (I only used about 2/3 of the prepared glaze which I thought was perfect!); cool in pans on wire racks 15 minutes. Remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.
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Step 6Once the cake is cooled, slice each layer in half to give you a total of 4 layers. More layers = more frosting = me happy! Note: I put the 2 cake layers in the freezer for 45 minutes to make slicing them in half easier.
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Step 7Make the cream cheese frosting according the recipe below. You can use a canned frosting but it won’t hold a candle to this delicious homemade icing!
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Step 8Spread Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. I’m a BIG frosting person so I made 1 1/2 batches of the cream cheese frosting to make sure the cake was completely covered. I also sprinkled chopped walnuts in between each frosted layer to take it over the top.
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Step 9Slice and enjoy!
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Step 10Glaze Prep: Bring first 5 ingredients to a boil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Boil, stirring often, 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla.
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Step 11Frosting Prep: Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add powdered sugar and vanilla; beat until smooth.
- Last Step: Don't forget to share! Post a picture of your finished recipe here and on your favorite social network. Don't forget to tag Just A Pinch and include #justapinchrecipes!
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