I've wanted to try my hand at carrot cake for literally YEARS. It's my favorite cake, which is weird because I hate most of the ingredients that go into it (raisins and walnuts). I don't know why I hesitated for so long to try it out because it was incredibly easy to make and not so much different from "normal" cakes.
I really liked this recipe because it made two identical, robust and flat layers, which made frosting it really easy. I made this cake for a family dinner and even the people that don't normally like carrot cake liked this one. I really recommend you give it a try! If you'd like a simpler recipe without raisins or pineapple, you can try this recipe for The Best Carrot Cake. It ultimately depends on your taste and preferences.
Update: this post has been re-named and content updated.
Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs, room temp
1 tsp vanilla
2 3/4 cup flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup raisins
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 1/4 cup finely grated carrots*
1/2 cup diced pineapple, fresh or canned
*I was in a rush and used matchstick carrots. 1 package was enough. I would only recommend this if you don't have time to grate. I found that peeling whole carrots and putting them in a food processor works best.
Ingredients (cream cheese frosting):
1 stick butter, room temp
1 8oz package cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
4 cups powdered sugar
Directions (cake):
Preheat oven to 350 and grease two 8 or 9" pans. My pans are non-stick so I did not need parchment paper. If you have old pans, I would recommend parchment paper on the bottom.
In a large bowl and on medium speed, beat together sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla until light yellow, about 2-3 minutes. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt. Gradually add dry mixture to wet and beat on low just until combined (do not over mix!). Fold in raisins, walnuts, carrots and pineapple. Divide batter among the two pans and bake 8" for 45-60 minutes and 9" for 30-35 minutes (I found 35 to be perfect). Cool cake on a wire rack.
Directions (cream cheese frosting):
Beat butter, cream cheese and vanilla on medium-high for 2-3 minute. On low speed, gradually add in powdered sugar, one at a time, until combined. Turn speed to high and beat for 1-2 minutes until smooth.
If you just want a thin layer of frosting, this recipe will make enough. If you plan to do rosettes, you will have to triple the recipe. I could only do two rows of rosettes when I doubled the recipe.
Recipe from i am homesteader