Carrot Cake Recipe

Last weekend was my husband's birthday.  While we don't have birthday parties for the adults, we do try to make birthdays special by getting a nice cake and going out for dinner.  My husband's favorite cake is carrot cake, which I prefer to bake from scratch.  For years I had a cake that we liked but was very dense and difficult to cook perfectly. 

A friend of mine at work has major stomach problems.  Trying to find a solution, she found a program called Great Taste No Pain that spoke to certain food combinations to ease the stomach pains.  The program contains a cookbook with awesome recipes as well as a book that talks about the science behind the program and what changes you can make to your diet to alleviate pain without taking medication.

As I looked through the cookbook I found a recipe for Carrot Cake that I decided to try.  The cake turned out delicious and we've been using this carrot cake ever since.  Here's the recipe as well as some pictures of the cake I decorated :)




World's Best Carrot Cake
1 1/2 cups canola oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
2 cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 - 7oz bag of shredded coconut
1 - 8oz can crushed pineapple packed in juice, undrained
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups shredded carrots
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350, grease and flour a 13x9x2 baking pan

Mix oil and sugar in large bowl.  Add eggs, beating well.  In a separate bowl, sift flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.  Add to beaten mixture.  Fold in remaining ingredients.  Pour into prepared pan and bake for 45 - 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cream Cheese Frosting
4 tablespoons butter
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons vannila
1 - 1lb box confectioner's sugar

Beat all ingredients until smoth  Spread over cooled carrot cake.

I choose to use round bake pains when I bake cakes instead of the 13 x 9.  My favorite cake pans are three thinner ones that I got from Granny when she moved into a nursing home.  I especially like using them when I do my husband's cake because I feel like it adds a little bit of love from his grandma who is no longer with us.

I found these Spider Man decorations at the grocery store and I decided I would use those to decorate the cake.  I did the flowers using the Pampered Chef cake decorating tools.

Note:  The link above is my affiliate link.  If you go to the website you can download for free a 17 page informational document regarding the program

Does your family like carrot cake?

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Water Park Cake
Strawberry Short Cake