Happy Birthday Susan!

This is a perfect example of why I love baking. This Saturday is my co-worker and dear friend Susan's birthday, so we are celebrating at the office today! And the first thing she wanted to know yesterday was what dessert she was getting. Of course, I had to ask her what her favorite cake/cupcake/dessert was, so that I could make it for her! What she chose is something that I normally don't go for, mainly because it's usually baked with nuts. (Just to let you know, I hate nuts. Like, really really really hate them, and pretty much refuse to eat them or bake with them. If you request me to make you something with nuts, I can't be held responsible for the finished product, because I will not taste it to make sure it's good......just so you know). Anyway, back to the birthday choice. Susan wanted Carrot Cake. Now, don't get me wrong, I love a good carrot cake, it's just extremely hard to find one out there that doesn't have walnuts. But most importantly, I'm excited to bake something that I know someone LOVES. Now, I know that I just posted a cream cheese frosting recipe, but this is a more structurally sound frosting that holds layers of cake well, so it's good to have in your repertoire. And remember, if you love your carrot cake with nuts, just stir in about a cup of walnuts after you've mixed in the carrot. Enjoy!

CARROT CAKE

For the Cake:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons dried ground ginger

2 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups canola oil

4 large eggs

3 cups grated peeled carrots

For the Frosting:

2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

3 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

To make the cake:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Butter two 9-inch-diameter cake pans. Line bottom of pans with parchment circles or silicon cake pan liners. Butter and flour sides and tap out excess flour.

Whisk flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger in medium bowl to blend.

Whisk sugar and oil in large bowl until well blended. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time. Add flour mixture and stir until blended. Stir in carrots. Divide batter between prepared pans.
Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 to 45 minutes. Cool cakes in pans 15 minutes. Turn out onto racks. Peel off waxed paper; cool cakes completely.

To make the frosting:

Using a hand held electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl to blend. Beat in sugar and vanilla.

Place 1 cake layer on plate. Spread 1 1/2 cups frosting over. Top with second cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Cake may be refrigerated, however you may want to let it come to room temperature prior to serving.

*Hint: For an easier job frosting the cake, once you have assembled the two layers on top of each other, apply what is called the 'Crumb Layer' of frosting first. The crumb layer of frosting is a very thin layer of frosting that covers the entire cake, which, once finished, will allow you to frost the cake with the remaining frosting, with no crumbs showing or pulling through the icing. It's best to apply the crumb layer, then refrigerate the cake for about 10 minutes to help the layer set, and then finish frosting the cake as usual.