Carrot Cake (A Spring or Fall Dessert!)

Carrot cake...the minute it hits your mouth,the spicy, moist cake sinks into your taste buds just as the creamy sweetness of the cream cheese frosting blends with that spiciness creating a mouthful of goodness. Some people think of this as a spring dessert...carrots, rabbits, etc. I think of carrot cake as another perfect fall dessert to make...harvested carrots (like those beauties from my Dad!), cinnamon mixed with cloves. The smell of it baking is better than any candle flavor you can buy at a store!

I brought some of this cake to work this morning and put the slices in the lunchroom. By my morning break, only one nutty crumb remained on the plate. Co-workers raved about it as I passed them in the halls. I guess I can take that to mean it was a winner! I won't lie, I do really love to hear compliments on my food. Just because I like it doesn't mean other people will. I find a real satisfaction in making food and watching people enjoy it. I think it's like an artist with their artwork, watching to see if people appreciate it, only not on such a deep level of course. It just makes a girl feel good that she brought a bit of pleasure (or I should say "bite" of pleasure) to some one's day I guess!

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
2-1/2 c. grated carrots
2 c. granulated sugar
1-1/2 c. oil
4 eggs
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 t. baking soda
3 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground cloves
1/2 c. finely chopped walnuts
1-8 oz.- can crushed pineapple

Frosting:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
4 c. powdered sugar
1 stick of butter, room temp
2 t. vanilla

Grease and flour two 9" round cake pans. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the sugar and oil. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until well blended. The mixture will look like pudding:


In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and cloves:


Slowly beat the flour into the liquid mixture until combined, scraping the sides. Add your grated carrots. I shred mine to tiny pieces in the processor:


Next, drain the pineapple well. With your hands, pick up the pineapple mush and give it a good squeeze. You want the extra juice, but not too much because you're getting quite a bit from the carrots as well. Add in the pineapple and walnuts:




Pour into the greased pans and bake for about an hour, or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool for 30 minutes in the pan. Carefully remove from pan and onto wire racks to cool completely:

For the frosting, beat together the butter and cream cheese until creamy and well combined. Add in the vanilla. Slowly beat in the powdered sugar, until smooth and creamy. Frost your cake rounds and enjoy! Sometimes I add crushed walnuts to the top or put a little fancy frosting garnish on. This time I kept it simple. I keep this refrigerated until serving.

Tomorrow's Friday...that's never a bad thing! I always wonder what other people are doing for the weekend, so I'll ask you too.... What are your weekend plans? Are you getting ready for fall? Harvesting your garden? Seeing a good movie? Date night? Trying a new recipe? Hosting a dinner? Sitting in the pouring rain at a football game wondering why you are there and not at home enjoying a good book or doing laundry? <-------that last one will most likely be me on Saturday!