Carrot Cake

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple in own juice, undrained
• 1 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 large eggs

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line the bottoms of two 9-inch baking pans with parchment paper.
2. Add flour, carrots, pecans, pineapple, sugar, vegetable oil, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt and eggs to a large mixer bowl; beat on low 2 minutes until blended.  Increase speed to medium; beat 4 minutes.
3. Pour mixture evenly between prepared pans.
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pans 10 minutes on wire racks.
5. Remove from pans; cool completely on wire racks.
6. Place one cake layer on cake plate; spread top of layer with 1/2 cup Cream Cheese Frosting.  Top with remaining layer; frost side of top of cake. Garnish with finely chopped peacans, if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serves:  16

Test Kitchen Tip:

• Instead of shredding carrots, use a spiralizer to grate carrots.
• To make Carrot Cake Cupcakes, line muffin pans with paper baking cups. Fill each baking cup about 3/4 full. An ice cream scoop works well for filling baking cups. Bake at 350°F for 16 to 18 minutes. Remove immediately from muffin pan and place on a cooling rack to cool completely before frosting. Makes 24 cupcakes.