My college roommate gave me this recipe, which we originally made as cupcakes. It is also delicious as a layer cake.
Ingredients
For the cake
2 cups plus more for pans all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
For the frosting
3 cups grated carrots (I grate with the food processor - a little extra chop helps distribute the carrots. Don’t use pre-grated carrots.)
2 (8 oz) packages room temperature cream cheese
1 stick room temperature salted butter
1 (16 oz) box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups chopped pecans
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 °F. Grease 2 (9-inch) round pans, or 3 smaller pans, and line the bottom of the pans with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add eggs and vegetable oil. Using a hand mixer, blend until combined. Add carrots and 1 1/2 cups pecans, if using.
Pour into pans. Bake for approximately 40 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pans, place on waxed paper and allow to cool completely before frosting. For cupcakes, bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the toothpick comes out clean
For the frosting:
Add cream cheese, butter, vanilla and powdered sugar into a medium bowl and beat until fluffy using a hand mixer. Stir in 1/2 cup nuts. Spread frosting on top of each cake layer.
Original recipe from
