A Birthday Carrot Cake

My one and only request on my birthday is carrot cake, and Cary has found an amazing recipe that he uses every year. Instructions on how to make my favorite birthday carrot cake are below!

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Birthday Carrot Cake

If you are gluten-free like me, you can substitute the flour 1:1 for all-purpose gluten-free flour.

Makes one 9-inch cake

Prep & bake time: 1.5 hours (plus ~2 hours cooling time)

This recipe calls for a food processor to make the batter; a stand mixer will also work, but the texture will be slightly different.

I recommend pairing with chai tea (add boiling water to a mug with a chai tea bag, a teaspoon of honey, and oat milk)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

• 1/8 tsp ground cloves

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1 lb medium carrots (about 7), peeled

• 1 1/2 c granulated sugar

• 1/2 c light brown sugar

• 4 eggs

• 1 1/2 c vegetable oil

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened

• 5 tbs unsalted butter, softened

• 1 tbs sour cream

• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 1/4 c confectioners' sugar

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 350 F

2. Grease cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper (we use one or two 9" round cake pans; other sizes work too but bake time may need to be adjusted)

3. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt in large bowl. Set aside.

4. Using a food professor with a shredder attachment, shred carrots (should be about 3 cups). Transfer to bowl and set aside.

5. Wipe out food processor and insert the metal blade. Process both sugars and eggs until combined, about 30 seconds. With machine running, slowly add the oil and process until well-combined (30 seconds). Transfer mixture to a bowl.

6. Stir sugar/egg mixture, carrots, and flour/spice mixture together until fully combined. Pour into cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (25-50 minutes depending on the size of your pan. One cake will take longer to bake than two; check it often).

7. Let cake cool completely in pan before removing and frosting.

8. For the frosting, mix cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer at medium/high speed until well combined (30-45 seconds). Scrape down sides with a rubber spatula as needed.

9. Add confectioners' sugar and mix until light and fluffy, about 1 minute.

10. Frost the cake(s) and enjoy! We always have leftover frosting, which I serve on the side in case anyone likes extra.

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