A Carrot Cake for Easter

This classic carrot cake recipe is moist, perfectly-spiced and made with

lots of fresh carrots and a cream cheese frosting.

TOTAL TIME: 1 HOUR PREP TIME: 30 MINS COOK TIME: 30 MINS

CARROT CAKE INGREDIENTS:

2 sticks unsalted melted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
6 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 pound finely-grated* fresh carrots

YIELD: 1 3-LEVEL 8-INCH CAKE, OR 1 2-LEVEL 9-INCH CAKE

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING INGREDIENTS:

3 (8-ounce) bricks cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 cups powdered sugar (or more, if needed to thicken)

DIRECTIONS:

HOW TO MAKE THE CARROT CAKE:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease and flour three 8 inch round cake pans. Or alternately, you can use two 9 inch if you prefer . (Just be sure that every square inch of the pans greased and coated in flour so that the cake does not stick!)

In the bowl of a mixer , mix together butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until combined and smooth. Add in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, and mix until smooth.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, nutmeg and cloves) until combined. Add the dry ingredient mixture to the mixing bowl, and beat on medium-speed until just combined, scraping down the pan at least once to be sure that everything is well mixed. Then fold in the grated carrots by hand, and stir until combined.

Pour the batter evenly into the prepared cake pans. Then bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cakes comes out clean. Remove pans and let them cool on a wire rack until the cakes reach room temperature.

I then like to pop them in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to cool off slightly. Then remove them and use a large knife or a cake leveler to level off the domed tops of the cakes so that they are level and even.

Layer the cakes with the cream cheese frosting, and then frost the outside of the cake as you desire. Serve that day or store, covered, for up to 4 days.

HOW TO MAKE THE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:

Using an electric mixer, cream together cream cheese and butter on medium speed for 1 minute or until smooth with no lumps remaining. Add in vanilla extract and salt, and continue mixing until combined. Lower speed to medium-low and gradually add in powdered sugar. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until combined.

If frosting is too thick, you can add in a teaspoon or two of water. If it is too thin, you can add in more powdered sugar.

You can just frost your cake, no decorations necessary, however if you want to embellish it a little there are lots of fun ways to decorate. We had a great friend who owns the The Cookie Monger make us these cute bunny cookies that we added to the outside of the cake. For the top we used Edible Easter grass and some candied Easter eggs from William Sonoma. Whatever you choose, just have fun with it… I doubled my batch and made some cupcakes as well.