Betsy’s Carrot Cake

My lovely mom, Betsy, makes a to-die-for carrot cake.   She has been making it for years.  Simply stated, it’s divine.  Perhaps, it is all of the love that she pours into the recipe that makes it perfect in every way.

It is the simplest recipe with only eight ingredients in the cake.   The frosting is a thick luscious butter cream.  I must admit, though.  I am not patient, at all.   I know I am supposed to add the wet ingredients and then the dry, but sometimes I just quickly measure (only because baking is a science), pour the ingredients in all at once, and turn the mixer on slowly so as to not create a cloud of flour.  Bliss.

A dear girlfriend stopped by last night and I showed her my cake.   I said, “It is a little bit lopsided.” She said, “It looks organic.”   We both laughed.  But, really, it does.  Organic in the sense that it looks very homemade.  A few spots where the frosting isn’t perfectly covering because the walnuts were too big.  And, there was way too much frosting on the lower side to compensate for the lopsidedness.  I’m not sure in the end if it remedied it or weighed it down further, but knowing this, everyone wanted a slice off the lower side.

It is nothing a pastry chef would come up with aesthetically; however, it is one of those darlings that everyone asks for the recipe. The flavors meld beautifully together especially by the second day.  So, I made it last night for this eve.  My family is coming around and we are celebrating two birthdays.  I can’t wait.

Betsy's Carrot Cake

Ingredients:

2 c unbleached flour
2 t cinnamon
2 t baking soda
2 t baking powder
2 c cane sugar
1 1/2 c safflower oil
4 organic eggs
3 c carrots, peeled and grated

For the frosting
8 ounces cream cheese
1 lb confectioners sugar
1/3 c butter
2 t vanilla
1 c walnuts, roughly chopped

*for a 10" layered cake I make one and a half times the frosting

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Take the butter and the cream cheese out of the refrigerator to come to room temperature. Prepare 2-10" pans or 1-9"x13" pan by lining with parchment paper and lightly buttering the sides of the pan.

In a mixer, combine the sugar, oil, and eggs. Add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder. Peel and grate the carrots. Add to the batter and mix.

Pour the cake batter into the pans. Fill the pans to 1/3 full. This cake rises considerably (more than double). Place in the oven to bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake starts to crack away from the sides of the pan. Take out of the oven to cool for 20 minutes. Remove from the pan and allow to cool completely.

For the frosting, place the cream cheese and the butter in a mixer and whip on high for a minute just to combine. With the mixer on low, mix in the confectioners sugar. Add the vanilla and walnuts.

Frost the cake and store in the refrigerate until serving.

Serves 12.