Cindy’s Carrot Cake : A Cookalong Original

A dense, moist, rich and sweet carrot cake that's great even without frosting. Oh, so satisfying. And surely it's good for you, with all those carrots and the fruit...?

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Difficulty Level

Easy

Hard

Needed Items

Durations

30 minutes hands on
50 minutes baking

Ingredients

1 can crushed pineapple in juice (20 oz)
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
4 eggs
1 pound carrots
1 cup raisins or dried cranberries
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt
For optional frosting, see ingredients and instructions below in Additional Notes..

Number of Servings

Equipment

Food processor or hand shredder
Mixer
13" x 9" pan

Do-Aheads

Soften the butter
Peel or scrub the carrots
Preheat oven to 350°

Additional Notes

Though my absolute intent was to serve/eat this without frosting, I succumbed yet again and made a glaze. I still maintain that the cake may be best without any toppings, BUT if you feel compelled to add something on top, here is the promised cream cheese frosting recipe, plus one for the buttermilk glaze I ended up using for the cake in this podcast.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Soften an 8 oz package of cream cheese and 1/2 cup butter, and cream them together in your mixer till light and fluffy. Bean in 1 TBSP lemon juice and 1 tsp grated lemon peel. Then gradually beat in 1 1/2 cups of sifted (lumps aren’t good!) powdered sugar. Spread on cake.

BUTTERMILK GLAZE

Combine 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup buttermilk, 1/2 cup butter, 1 TBSP light corn syrup, and 1/2 tsp baking soda in 2 quart saucepan. Bring to boil. Boil 5-6 minutes, until thick and syrupy; remove from heat and add 1 tsp vanilla. Poke holes in top of cake with toothpick or fork; pour glaze over top while cake is still warm. Serve warm or store in refrigerator.