Carrot Cake
NYC can be a lonely place.
You might be surrounded by people, but sometimes it can be hard to make the city feel like home.
That's why, in my 12+ years here, I have worked to carve out my own slice of comfort amidst the chaos.
A favorite local restaurant, a bartender who knows your drink, or a manicurist who doesn’t rush you when you take a million hours to choose a shade of polish--these are all things that help.
But let's face it, there is nothing like family to make a place really feel like home.
So when I married my husband, I was psyched to gain a set of family members in the city.
There is nothing like a Sunday night meal at their place--complete with a little debating, a little yelling, and a lot of laughing.
It all just makes a gal feel like she's home.
My father in law, Bob, is always in charge of the food (though through the years he has slowly allowed me to help).
And the more he likes you, the more your favorites will appear on the menu (so I try my best to suck up, ha).
Bob never makes desserts, so to contribute, I find myself more often than not bringing a sinfully sweet dessert to accompany his traditionally bacon-filled meals.
And when I found out that carrot cake was his favorite, I was determined to present him with one just the way he likes it.
After an interrogation about how he likes his carrot cake, and more importantly what kind of frosting he loves (as apparently that was all that really mattered to him), I set off...
And what resulted was a hybrid between a recipe he got from his last good carrot cake source and a carrot cake with a little Nikki Dinki Cooking twist.
If you think you don't like carrot cake, you’re crazy.
This version is moist, flavorful, and covered in cream cheese icing!
What's not to love?!
Carrot Cake
servings: 1 two-layer 8-inch-round cake
Ingredients:
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1½ cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3 teaspoons ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch of kosher salt
- 4 cups shredded carrots
- Cream Cheese Frosting
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Beat the sugar, vegetable oil, and eggs in a mixer until well combined. Then add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix again until combined. Add the cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, and salt and mix one last time until combined.
- Add the carrots to the mixture and mix until they are well incorporated. Then spoon the mixture into two buttered 8-inch round pans, dividing it evenly.
- Bake for 30 to 40 minutes. When the cake layers are finished baking, allow them to cool. Frost one layer with Cream Cheese Frosting, then place the other layer on top of it and frost it as well. Enjoy!
Notes:
- If you choose to make cupcakes rather than a full-sized cake, spoon the mixture into a cupcake pan lined with cupcake wrappers. Bake the cupcakes in an oven preheated to 325°F for 15 to 20 minutes.
