Carrot Cake

Everyone has their specialty. Everyone has a signature dish. Something that they make, that for some reason you no matter how hard you try, you just can't make it as good as them. Luckily for me I grew surrounded by people who were really good at cooking a lot of dishes.



Our family friend Charlotte is one of these people. Charlotte and her husband Larry were like second parents to me and my siblings. While Charlotte fed us many delicious meals over the years, the one thing that I think that she made the best was her carrot cake.


I was recently given some fresh, organic carrots that you could tell how good they tasted just by looking at them. It was an easy decision as to what I was going to make with them.


I added some nutmeg and used a slightly different method than her original recipe called for, but it turned out delicious.


I can brag about how good this cake is because the recipe isn't mine. I made this and gave a lot of it away to friends and it garnered rave reviews.  This is a serious carrot cake. Make one and find out for yourself!




CHARLOTTE'S CARROT CAKE


1 1/4 cup oil
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
3 cups of grated carrots
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)


METHOD:
Beat oil and sugar together for 5 minutes. Add your eggs, one a time. In a bowl, sift, or combine together your dry ingredients and then add it to the wet mixture. Add your carrots and then the walnuts. 


I always had carrot cake that was baked in a Bundt (tube, angel food) pan so that is what I used. If you don't have one use whatever you have.


Bake at 350 for about an hour. Poke it with a cake tester (I often use a butter knife) to make sure it is ready to go.


ICING:
1 pkg cream cheese
2 Tbsp butter
2 tbsp condensed milk
2 cups icing sugar


METHOD:
Beat together the cream cheese and the butter. Add the condensed milk and then the icing sugar, one cup at a time. Make sure the cake is completely cool and then spread the icing over the cake and you are good to go.


BAKING TIPS:
Use vegetable oil. Canola oil will work just fine, but vegetable oil is better for baking.


Add your eggs one at a time to the mixer


I said this already, but make sure the cake has completely cooled before icing it.