Lina’s Carrot Cake

I don’t know about you, but when I think of Easter dessert, my mind automatically goes to carrot cake with cream cheese icing. When my friend Victoria told me that her mother makes the best carrot cake she’s ever eaten, I knew I had to get the recipe. Lina’s carrot cake recipe is nice and simple yet incredibly tasty. She even adapted this recipe to be gluten-free for those that have a gluten allergy. It is also nut free and has the best cream cheese icing that will leave you drooling for more. Thank you Lina for graciously giving me this recipe. I will forever add it to my collection! 

Prep time: 10 min     Total time: 1 hr  Servings: 10-12 

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients:

2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free flour

(don’t want itgluten free? Use white flour instead at the same measurement)

3 cups of  finely shredded carrots

2 teaspoons of baking soda

 2 teaspoons of baking powder 

2 teaspoons of cinnamon  

½ teaspoons of salt

Wet Ingredients 

2 cups of white sugar or coconut sugar           

1 cup of oil (canola, olive, vegetable, avocado) 

4 large eggs 

2 teaspoons of vanilla 

Cream Cheese Icing:

250 grams of Philadelphia cream cheese at room temp

1/4 cup of butter at room temp

4 cups of icing sugar sifted

1 teaspoon of orange or lemon juice (fresh squeezed)

Instructions: 

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350F  Line a 8 ½ x 8  inch pan with parchment paper, make sure to grease the sides. 

Step 2:  Mix dry ingredients well in a bowl with a spoon  EXCEPT for sugar, set aside. 

Step 3:Mix eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla WELL in a large bowl with a spatula, add dry ingredients and shredded carrots. Mix just until combined, do not overmix. 

Step 4: Add batter to pan, bake for 45-50 min.  Check after 45minutes with a toothpick, if toothpick is dry remove the cake from the oven and cool for at least 10 min on wire wrack. Invert cake onto wrack, remove pan.  Cool at room temperature before icing with cream cheese icing.

Icing: 

Step 1: Blend cheese and butter with a mixer or food processor. Add one cup of sugar at a time, blending well, add juice. Continue to blend until there are no lumps, should be smooth.  Ice cake when completely cooled and refrigerated.  If serving cake the same day don't refrigerate just keep in a cool place as it will taste even better. This icing tastes great on carrot cake and both freeze well. I like to make my carrot cake in the morning of the day I'm serving it if time allow