Adventures in Carrot Caking {and the Recipe}

I'm trying something new with today's recipe. Rather than my standard layout, I thought I'd format it to tell a story. You see, I was having so much fun photographing along the way, and all of the photos turned out beautifully, that I didn't want to scrap them just for a few shots to accompany the recipe. I especially loved the ones I got of L devouring the beaters... that's not something she gets to do often. Heck, I don't even make cake that often {usually only on birthdays}, so when our friend was coming to town with something to celebrate, cake was certainly in order. Being the cake-hater that he is, carrot cake was our only option, and it seems that the masses of cake-haters will only eat a carrot cake. Weird, right?

This cake was somewhat dense, but not heavy, and had a lovely flavor to it. The frosting was rich, and considering I'm not a big fan of frosting, I didn't eat much of it. Also, the recipe makes a lot. We still have half of a Tupperware tub full of it... and that's after a somewhat heavy application on the cake! Frosting aside, our friend loved it, so it was a success, and we were happy to see it go home with him since we're still sweets-ed out from the holidays.

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Carrot Cake and Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe

{Adapted from All Recipes}

• 4 Eggs
• 1 1/4 cups Vegetable Oil
• 2 cups White Sugar
• 2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 2 tsp. Baking Soda
• 2 tsp. Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
• 3 cups Grated Carrots

    1. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 tsp. vanilla.

    2. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.

    3. Stir in carrots.

    4. Pour into greased 13x9" pan.

    5. Bake at 350° for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

    6. Cool completely before frosting.

Now for the frosting!

• 1/2 cup Butter, Softened
• 8 oz. Cream Cheese, Softened
• 4 cups Confectioners' Sugar
• 1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1. In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

 2. Frost the cooled cake.

{Sorry, no shots of the inside because we had to wait for him to cut it!}

My L pre-sugar-high....

Thanks for reading,