Uber Moist Carrot Cake

I made this tasty and pretty carrot cake the other night for my husbands birthday. I've never made carrot cake before, but this turned out amazing and everyone at the party (and I mean everyone) commented on how delicious and moist it was. I thought it turned out really good as well. My only change would be to up the spices. You can never have enough spice in a cake like this.

The recipe called for a 9x13 pan, but I decided to bake the cakes in two 9-in round pans to make a pretty layer cake. I love tall slices of cake.

I decided last minute to add a cinnamon whipped cream filling in between the cake layers. I had some extra whipping cream on hand, so I beat the cream until stiff peaks formed, then added a sprinkle of cinnamon and powdered sugar. When the completed cake was cut into slices, the whipped cream layer had melted into the cake forming a yummy cinnamon layer.

After the cakes were stacked they got a nice slathering of rich cream cheese frosting.

Then to finish it off, toasted pecans are pressed on the outside of the cake giving it that carrot cake look. Decorate the top as desired or leave it plain.

If you like carrot cake, you must give this recipe a try!

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Carrot Cake
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil (You can substitute 3/4 cup of applesauce for 3/4 cup of the oil, it's moist either way )
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup pureed pineapple
1 cup chopped pecans*, toasted

Frosting
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans*, toasted

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan (I used two 9-inch round pans) 
In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white and brown sugar and vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices. Stir in pineapple and carrots. Fold in pecans*. Pour into prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes**, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.


To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Stir in chopped pecans*. Frost the cooled cake.


* I didn't put the pecans in the cake or in the frosting. I pressed them on the outside of the cake once it was frosted. 




** I think I decreased the bake time since I used different pans. If you choose to use the round pans, check them at 30 minutes and see how they're doing.