Mother's Carrot Cake

My mother loved carrot cake and she must have had about 20 different recipes, but she almost always came back to this one. It is moist and delicious.  You can substitute 1 cup finely grated fresh carrots and add about 1/2 cup applesauce if you don't want to use baby food carrots.  Pecans are usually our nut of choice, but Walnuts or Almonds work equally as well.

MOTHER'S CARROT CAKE

Image courtesy of Cooking.com

2 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 (6oz) jars baby food carrots
1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup chopped nuts
Cream Cheese Frosting (follows)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 9x13" pan. (or a bundt pan) Set aside.

In large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg; set aside.  In another bowl, mix baby food carrots and pineapple; set aside.

In another large bowl, blend sugar and oil. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add dry ingredients alternately with carrot-pineapple mixture; mix well. Stir in nuts.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 40-45 minutes.  Cool; top with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Yield: 16 servings

Cream Cheese Frosting:
Cream together 1/2 cup butter, 1 (8oz) package of cream cheese and 1 tsp vanilla. Gradually add 1 (1 pound) box of confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar). Beat thoroughly. Add a few drops of milk if frosting seems too thick.