A Carrot Cake to Celebrate: No Pineapple

Name: A Carrot Cake to Celebrate
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 1 layer cake
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 cups flour; 2 teaspoons baking powder; 2 teaspoons soda; 2 teaspoons cinnamon; 1 teaspoon salt; 1-1/2 cup oil (1 cup); 2 cups sugar (1-1/2 cup); 4 large eggs; 3 cups grated carrots; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I use toasted pecans + 1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries + 1 cup shredded coconut); 6 ounces cream cheese, softened; 1/4 cup butter, room temperature; 1 pound (3-1/2 cups) powdered sugar; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 8 ounces cream cheese, softened; 1-1/2 cups marshmallow cream; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/4 cup powdered sugar

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This family favorite, A Carrot Cake to Celebrate, was always one of my mom’s favorites. Cream cheese frosting and chopped pecans enhance the flavor of the cake. Plenty of carrots are involved but there’s no pineapple in sight.

Jump to the recipe

What is/was your Mom’s favorite cake?

Do you still make it?

As you can guess, this is my Mom’s favorite recipe. She always loved to eat it on her birthday.

Going back in time…

We celebrated my mom’s 93rd birthday this weekend with a “carry-in dinner”. That’s what we called potluck meals at the little church of my childhood back home in Indiana.

My two daughters-in-law and I cooked the entire meal in our own kitchens and carry it to their little apartment at the retirement village where they live. It was easier for my parents that way.

My mom loves carrot cake so it’s the only excuse I need to record the family recipe–along with a few changes I can’t resist.

A word about the recipe’s ancestry…

The original recipe comes from my sister Kay. She’s a true southern cook who has spent most of her adult life in Alabama. She is not afraid of a little sugar and fat to make things taste good. Her husband claims it is absolutely one of her tastiest creations.

The modifications previously mentioned are heavily influenced by Dorie Greenspan’s carrot cake as published in Baking, From My House to Yours. Changes are noted inside the parenthesis.

About the cream cheese icing…

Because it’s not quite as rich, I really like the second recipe for cream cheese icing. It’s based on a version printed in a recent issue of Cook’s Country magazine. However, it doesn’t make a lot, so consider doubling the recipe if you’re baking a layer cake and want to frost the sides too.

The actual cake pictured above is a half recipe baked in 3 6-inch round pans. It’s the perfect size for our rather small family, leaving us with a piece or two for the birthday person to enjoy later.

Pin the picture below to save for later.

If you make this and enjoy the recipe, it would help me and others if you would return to this post and leave a rating (on the recipe card itself underneath the picture). Although always appreciated, no comment is required. Thank you for visiting! Paula

Yield: 1 layer cake

A Carrot Cake to Celebrate

This is our family recipe for carrot cake with cream cheese icing. A lighter version of cream cheese icing made with marshmallow creme is included.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cup oil (1 cup)
2 cups sugar (1-1/2 cup)
4 large eggs
3 cups grated carrots
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I use toasted pecans + 1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries + 1 cup shredded coconut)
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 pound (3-1/2 cups) powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups marshmallow cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Instructions

Cake

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare 3 9-inch round cake pans or 10 x 14-inch rectangular pan by spraying with vegetable oil/flour combination such as Baker's Joy or line the bottom of pans with wax paper or parchment paper (my preference).
Whisk together flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon, and salt.
Combine oil and sugar in mixer bowl until smooth. Add eggs and mix until smooth. Mix in carrots and vanilla.
Add dry ingredients and mix only until they disappear. Gently fold in nuts, fruit and coconut if using.
Bake for 25-35 minutes rotating pans half way through baking time. After cooling for 5 minutes, turn out onto baking rack and allow to cool completely before icing.