Oh My! I am running so far behind with my Blog posts lately… But this cake is so good you will be making up excuses to make it! Easter isn’t the only time of year for carrot cake 😉

Let me give you a glimpse into my Easter Sunday! We started the day with cinnamon bites (crescents I turned into little cinnamon rolls)  with homemade icing and some coffee. My husband and I had a leisure full morning watching the History channel while we enjoyed our breakfast and coffee. Then (after showers and clothes) we were off to my grandparents place for Easter dinner! I love my family get-togethers! We share stories and joke around, giving each other a hard time. Potluck is tradition in my family, everyone is assigned a part of the meal to bring (i.e. Meat, vegetable, dessert… ect). This Easter I was assigned the dessert 🙂 I love baking so I was more than happy to oblige. I had never made a carrot cake from scratch before so I decided to give it a try and I must say, it turned out great! You can find the full recipe at the end of this post or continue reading for step by step instructions.

*be sure to review the full recipe for ingredient amounts and small steps not included here.

I started by prepping my ingredients to be prepared with correct measurements when needed. I decided to use full size carrots and shred them myself (this took the most time) but you can buy pre-shredded carrots if you prefer.

I used homemade applesauce as well but I can’t take the credit for that. I was lucky enough to have some applesauce my Grandmother made last summer from the apples in her yard still in the freezer, so i thawed it out and made use of it. You can use oil instead of applesauce but the applesauce keeps it lower fat.
Once your ingredients are ready you can combine the applesauce, sugar and eggs in a standing mixer and blend well. Next you add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon to the mixer slowly bending with the applesauce mixture. Finally add the carrots, raisins, vanilla, pineapple and orange juice and combine completely.
Once the cake batter is ready pour it into two lightly greased and floured cake pans either 8 or 9 inches.

While the cakes bake make the cream cheese frosting by beating the butter and cream cheese until fluffy then adding the vanilla and powdered sugar and beating until smooth.

Back for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (mine actually took 50 minutes so time may very but if you have a better oven then me it should take 35-40 minutes). Let cakes cool for about 10 minutes then remove from the pans by sliding a knife around the edges of the cake and gently tapping the bottom while securing the cake upside down. Cool the cakes completely before frosting.
If needed level off what will be the bottom layer of the cake by slicing off the rounded top with a non-serrated knife. It wasn’t needed in my case as they turned out extremely flat topped for some reason. Apply a generous amount of frosting and cover the entire surface of the bottom layer of the cake.
Place the top layer carefully on top.
My husband came into the kitchen at this point to watch me and decided the edges weren’t perfect enough (LOL) so he stepped in and “fixed it” for me by evening the sides with a sharp knife.
Starting scooping frosting onto the top of the cake and gently spread it across the top and down the sides. Once you have a good layer around the entire cake you can add frosting as needed to get the thickness you want, even everything out and create the look you are going for.
Once frosted decorate your cake! My husband offered ideas for this part as well and one idea had us both giggling like children. He suggested “lets add raisins to the outside so it looks like bunny poop”. It was too cute to pass up!

Baking requires accurate measurements to turn out right but decorating is where you can let loose, have fun and get out of your comfort zone. Don’t worry if your decorating experimentation doesn’t work out every time. This cake is so moist and rich, once they take a bight no one will care what it looks like!

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1¼ c applesauce
• 2 c sugar
• 3 eggs

• 2 c flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 2 c grated carrots
• ½ cups chopped raisins
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup crushed pineapple (not drained)
• ½ cup orange juice

Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 1 c butter (softened)
• 16 oz cream cheese (softened)
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 4 c powdered sugar

Instructions 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine applesauce through eggs.
3. Add flour through cinnamon.
4. Stir in carrots through orange juice.
5. Pour into two lightly greased and floured 8 or 9-inch pans.
6. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
7. Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes then gently remove from pans. (Slide a knife around the edges, place your hand across the middle of the cake, turn upside down and gently tap the pan on a counter).
8. Let cakes cool completely.For the frosting
9. Beat the butter and cream cheese until nice and fluffy.
10. Add in the vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until nice and smooth.
11. If needed level off the top of one cake using a long non-serrated knife.
12. Apply a generous dollop of frosting and spread.
13. Gently place the second cake on top and continue frosting.
14. Decorated as you see fit (I used raisins to simulate bunny droppings ;P )