The Ultimate Carrot Cake

My husband and I are huge carrot cake fans but we rarely eat it and I never bake it at home. We like it so much the top of our wedding cake was carrot. We ate it the day after our wedding too! When Ava's birthday was coming up, I knew I wanted to make a carrot cake so the recipe hunt was on! I found a recipe on AllRecipes.com and tweaked it a little to my taste. It was a huge success. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of it because I didn't think about taking a picture before hand and there was no cake left after the party to take a picture of either. The recipe was easy and super yummy, so I thought I would share even without a tantalizing picture to tempt you.

Ultimate Carrot Cake

4 eggs

½ c. natural applesauce

¾ c. vegetable oil

1 c. white sugar

1 c. brown sugar

3 tsp. vanilla extract

2 c. flour

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. salt

3 tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. nutmeg

3 c. grated carrots

1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans

8 oz. can crushed pineapple, drained

½ c. butter, softened

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

3 c. confectioners’ sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 c. chopped walnuts or pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour a 9x13 pan.

2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, applesauce, oil, sugars, and 3 tsp. vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir in carrots. Fold in nuts and pour into prepared pan.

3. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool completely.

4. To make frosting: In medium bowl, combine butter cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla. Beat until mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped nuts. Frost the cooled cake.

If you don't like nuts or pineapple then just leave it out. I hope you find a reason to make this deliciouis cake...Enjoy!!