Best Carrot Cake Ever

SUBMITTED BY: Nan PHOTO BY: Lauren N.

"A moist and flavorful recipe that makes a large quantity of cake. I have been hounded to make this cake time and time again."

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PREP TIME	1 Hr 30 Min
COOK TIME	1 Hr
READY IN	2 Hrs 30 Min
Original recipe yield 2 - 10 inch round layers

SERVINGS

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Servings
USMETRIC

INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)

6 cups grated carrots
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup raisins
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS

In a medium bowl, combine grated carrots and brown sugar. Set aside for 60 minutes, then stir in raisins.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two 10 inch cake pans.
In a large bowl, beat eggs until light. Gradually beat in the white sugar, oil and vanilla. Stir in the pineapple. Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, stir into the wet mixture until absorbed. Finally stir in the carrot mixture and the walnuts. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.
Bake for 45 to 50 minutes in the preheated oven, until cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. When completely cooled, frost with cream cheese frosting.

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REVIEWS

Reviewed on Jun. 1, 2004 by CRYSTALLAUREY

Full Review

The reviewer gave this recipe 5 stars. This recipe averages a 4.74 star rating.

CRYSTALLAUREY
Jun. 1, 2004

Before I decided to try this cake I read every single review, paying careful attention to those who did not like the cake very much. Though the overwhelming majority, of which I am now a part, liked this cake very much I understand that you learn a lot more about something by learning what people did not like about it. So, after having made the cake I have a few suggestions for those who didn’t like the cake. Most of the complaints where that the cake was too heavy or that it was too moist or “pudding like” A solution to this might be to strain the carrots and pineapple more before adding them in to the cake batter. I know the recipe doesn’t specify but I strained the carrots and the pineapple until they where almost dry and added about 2 – 3 tablespoons of the strained liquid back in. I also hydrated the raisins a bit by letting them sit in a cup of warm water while the carrots sat in the brown sugar. Also I made 3 - 8” rounds instead of the recommended 2 - 10” rounds. This will shorten the bake time to about 30 -45 mins. and may also help solve any underdone cake problems… I thought this cake was very good and well worth the effort. Everyone I have served this to has loved this and I certainly plan on making it again.

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Before I decided to try this cake I read every single review, paying careful attention to... MORE

Reviewed on Dec. 24, 2008 by CAMCHES

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CAMCHES
Dec. 24, 2008

I've finally figured out how to make this moist without sogginess. My family loves carrot cake so I’ve made this recipe many times since I first found it. First, do what you can the night before and store ingredients in ziplock bags/tupperware. Grate the carrots, soak the raisins overnight, sift the dry ingredients. The only things I added: 1/4 tsp each of nutmeg, allspice, ginger, and cloves, doubled the vanilla and cinnamon, ½ tsp baking POWDER, and the zest of one lemon. I soaked the raisins in equal parts of the drained pineapple juices and rum. The raisins absorbed most of the liquids and were really plump and delicious. Save a few tablespoons to add to the cake. I didn’t want to risk a dry cake so I compromised. I drained the carrots by pressing them into a sieve BEFORE I added the brown sugar. After the carrots sit for an hour, there will still be some liquid; add all of it. My cake ended up moist, flavorful, and TALL. Don't over-mix or let your cake sit too long. Baking soda reacts immediately so if you over-mix or leave it around, the gas will escape and your cake will be flat. Use the good pans. I’ve noticed my cakes rose best in coated pans versus aluminum. Line the bottom of your layer pans with wax paper or parchment paper. Better safe than sorry! To make a bundt, bake at 325 for 75-90 minutes. Use a cream cheese glaze: beat 4oz cream cheese with 2tsp vanilla and 2c powdered sugar. And 1-2tbsp milk to get spreading consistency.

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244 users found this review helpful

I've finally figured out how to make this moist without sogginess. My family loves carrot... MORE

Reviewed on Nov. 3, 2003 by DESSERTMAKER2

This carrot cake is the absolute best that I have ever made. I had many compliments on this. ... MORE

Reviewed on Jun. 20, 2006 by BHSCHULZ

It was great! I baked it in a 9 x 13 cake pan at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. MORE

Reviewed on Feb. 6, 2004 by MelanieDC

Full Review

The reviewer gave this recipe 4 stars. This recipe averages a 4.74 star rating.

MelanieDC
Feb. 6, 2004

I got rave reviews on this cake ("you should sell this for $8.00 a slice"), but I did mess with the recipe. First, I scaled the recipe to 12 servings because of the comments about how huge the cake was. I used 2 9" baking pans and it made a pretty regular sized cake. I used about 4 cups grated carrots, which was all of the carrots in the bag I bought and 1/2 cup less than called for. I replaced half of the oil with apple sauce and I replaced half of the pineapple with apple sauce. I also used wheat flour for a little less than 1/2 of the flour. I left out the raisins and I added about a tsp each of nutmeg, allspice, ginger and dried orange rind. I also doubled the cinnamon. For the frosting I used 1/4 lb butter, 8 oz cream cheese, 2 tsp vanilla and 1 lb sifted conf sugar. Should probably have refrigerated it to let it set more before I transported it because it got a little slippy but not disastrous. I took it to a 4 person dinner party and brought leftovers to work. People could not get enough. I was pretty happy since I not only never made carrot cake before, I had never eaten it so I wasn't sure how it should taste! Thanks!

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64 users found this review helpful

I got rave reviews on this cake ("you should sell this for $8.00 a slice"), but I did mess... MORE