Carrot Cake.

This is mine and my husbands new favourite cake. Both times I have made it, it was delicious and the end result was great. The original recipe can be found here. I love that blog for great cake ideas, there are a number I have saved that I cannot wait to test out. I did however make some small changes because obviously the sugar spun nest on the top was a bit over the top for me. Also, the original recipe calls for WAY too much icing and I love icing so that is saying something. So if you want a wonderful carrot cake recipe here it is, also the lemon-scented cream cheese icing is to die for. At first I thought the combination was a little weird, until I took the first bite and fell in love. Try it out. Click 'read more' below to find my recipe.

It tastes better than it looks. I needed a little more icing to make it beautiful.

For the Carrot Cake:

2 cups All Purpose Flour
2 cups Sugar
2 tsp Baking Soda
2 tsp Baking Powder
2 tsp Cinnamon
3/4 tsp Salt
Pinch Nutmeg (I have a measuring spoon for a pinch, if you do not it really is not a lot, so less is more, it is strong)
4 large Eggs
1 cup Oil (I used vegetable, but canola or saffola will work also)
3 cups Grated Carrots (I used a thin grater to not have huge chunks)
1 cup Crushed Pineapple (drained)
1 cup Raisins (washed)

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and grease three 8 inch baking pans. 
2. Sift together dry ingredients, mix and set aside. 
3. Grate carrots, dry with paper towel, and set aside. 
4. In the bowl of mixer, beat together sugar and oil on medium speed. 
5. On medium-low, gradually add in the eggs one at a time. 
6. Carefully mix in the dry ingredients in at least two batches. Scrape the bottom of the bowl and mix again. 
7. On low stir in carrots, pineapple and raisins one at a time. 
8. Pour batter into prepared baking pans. Bake until the centers of the cake are done, about 20-25 minutes, rotating halfway through. 
9. Remove from oven, cover with dish cloth and press on top to level. Remove from pan (use rubber spatula around and should remove easily) and cool completely on wire rack. 

Lemon-Scented Cream Cheese Icing 

(This can be used just as the filling and add a butter cream to the outside, or it can be used as both the filling and the outside. The recipe below is for both filling and outside. If used just for filling reduce quantity. This will provide a thin filling and thin outside layer of icing.)

Zest of 1 Medium/Large Lemon

2.5 tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice

1/2 cup (4oz) Cream Cheese

1 cup (8oz) Unsalted Butter (softened)

3.5-4 cups Confectioner's Sugar

Splash of Milk (may not be required)

1. In the bowl of mixer, beat softened butter with a paddle attachment on medium speed for 2-3 minutes
2. Add in cream cheese, and continue to beat for another few minutes until combined. (do it a little longer after it looks combined because the cream cheese is hard to mix)
3. With the mixer on low, add in zest, lemon juice, and one cup of confectioner's sugar at a time. After all confectioner's sugar is added increase mixer speed to medium and beat until smooth and fluffy. Add remaining confectioner's sugar and if needed milk until desired consistency is reached. (I learnt the hard way, but you need it thinker than you think or your layers will be sliding and you will have a hot mess.)