Carrot Cake

For my Mom's birthday I wanted to bake her a cake and she request carrot. I used a cream cheese frosting with it and it turned out great! The cake was super moist and people seemed to really like it. 

I didn't want to spend too long doing it all at once so what I did was bake the cakes and make the frosting the day before. I wrapped the cakes well in plastic wrap and stored everything separately in the fridge. When I got to my mom's house I put the cake together and frosted it. For simple decoration I just used some pecan halves around the top but you could use chopped pecans on the sides or all over if you want.

Ingredients: 

Butter, for pans 

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans 

2 cups sugar 

2 teaspoons baking soda 

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 

1 teaspoon salt 

4 eggs 

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil 

3 cups grated carrots 

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, optional

Frosting:
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick salted butter, room temperature
1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
1 teaspoonvanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) round pans; Line bottom of the pans with parchment paper.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

3. Add eggs and vegetable oil. Using a hand mixer, blend until combined.

4. Add carrots and pecans, if using.

5. Pour into pans. Bake for approximately 40 minutes.

6. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pans, place on waxed paper and allow to cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting ( I like to make this while the cakes are baking):
1. Add all ingredients, except nuts, into a medium bowl and beat until fluffy using a hand mixer. Stir in the nuts.

2. Spread frosting on top of each cake layer. Stack the cakes on a serving plate and serve.