Sunday, September 23, 2012

Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

In 1979 the Junior League of San Francisco published the wonderful San Francisco a la Carte cookbook and I received it from my good friend, Betsy, in 1980 for Christmas. My worn book has seen many splatters and has suffered many dog-eared pages over the years and one of my very favorite recipes is the Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting. I decided to make it for Gerry's birthday which was this weekend because it is that delicious and pretty impressive in three layers, frosted top and sides with chopped pecans encrusting the sides. We had 12 guests for brunch and there was very little cake left!

Line the bottom of three baking pans (8 inch rounds) with parchment or waxed paper and also spray the sides and bottom with PAM for Baking. Bake 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Thoroughly stir together:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 tsp. cinnamon

Set aside.

Beat four eggs until frothy and slowly beat in 1 cup corn oil. Add in the flour mixture and stir in 4 cups of grated raw carrots.

Pour into prepared pans and bake. Cool in pans for 1 minutes. Remove to cake racks.

When the layers have cooled, frost each layer and then the whole cake when assembled.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
Blend 8 oz cream cheese, soft
4 T butter soft
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Store in refrigerator.