The Carrot Cake Off

Pretty much every baker in the United States has a carrot cake recipe.  Each one is convinced that hers/his is the absolute best. Clearly, this can’t be true because mine is actually the best. It wasn’t always the best, but I’ve finessed and finessed it and now I’d put it up against anyone’s carrot cake recipe, even Joan, the queen of cakes.  (My sister-in-law, Donna is going to have a nervous breakdown over this because my recipe is a variation on her recipe and she’s convinced hers is the best.) (OK, she’s convinced because she won a Blue Ribbon at the Canfield fair, the second biggest fair in the country.   She says a panel of judges from Home Economics Departments of Kent State and Youngstown State Universities awarded it.) I had to add this because she wrote a comment informing me of this and is now demanding a competition.  (Good God, what have I started?) 

Anyway, Joan is a friend of mine who is one of the most competitive humans on the face of the earth.  I love her in spite of it, but it’s true. At one get together we had a carrot cake-off.  She brought hers, I brought mine.  It was like those gun-slinger movies where the two shooters face off and only one is left standing.  Sadly, I went down over stinking pecans.  I was grinding mine down like meal, she left hers in big chunks and it turns out that people like chunks better (me included).  But other than that they were neck and neck.

I always loved Donna’s recipe and made it for a while, but somewhere along the line, I decided that 1 1/2 cups of oil was too much (because God forbid this cake with cream cheese frosting should be fattening or anything) so I substituted a can of crushed pineapple for 3/4 of a cup of oil.  I liked the flavor of the pineapple and just kept it in.

Then, after the cake-off, I realized that the pecans had to be in larger pieces, so I’m sorry Donna, your cake recipe was really good, but I’ve moved on.

I just made it for my daughter’s 18th birthday, and it got rave reviews from the four young people here devouring it.  It’s moist and dense and just perfect. Unfortunately, I’ve never taken a cake decorating class and my cakes have looked the same for the past 25 years.  I decorate them with a plastic bag with the corner snipped off.  I do really difficult moves like make dots all around the edges. Go ahead, say it, “Ooooooohhh.”

And parents, remember this: The cake with the decorative dots that thrills your child at three, she will mock when she turns 18.  Just be prepared. (I can’t imagine where she got that kind of sarcasm .)

So, here you go.   I feel perfectly comfortable giving you this recipe, knowing that if you ever run into Joan or Donna, you can say your carrot cake is every bit as good as theirs.  However, over achiever that Joan is, she’s also taken cake decorating classes, so her cake will probably be better looking than yours, but hold your head high because it all looks the same once you swallow it.

Fran’s Clearly Superior Carrot Cake
(Adapted from my sister-in-law, Donna Tunno’s Award Winning Carrot Cake recipe)
2 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped toasted pecans ( Toast about 10 min at 350, but watch them carefully, so they don’t burn. As soon as they’re aromatic, take them out.
3 c. grated carrots (press them down with your hand so they’re densely packed but not totally squished)
1 20 oz. can drained, crushed pineapple (process it if you don’t want small chunks of pineapple in your cake but I like the small chunks)
3/4 c. canola oil
2 c. sugar
4 eggs
1 cup toasted finely chopped pecans to press on the sides of the cake (These MAKE the cake!)
I always toast my pecans first. That way they have time to cool before adding them to the batter. I toast them whole, then chop the ones I put in the cake by hand once they’re toasted so they’re not too fine. I put the second cup of toasted pecans in the food processor and finely chop them and set them aside.  Then, I put my pineapple in a strainer and let it drain.  Then I peel and process my carrots, then set them aside. (This cake is some work, but the accolades are worth it.)

Combine all dry ingredients:  flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in one medium bowl.  Combine oil, sugar, eggs and drained pineapple in second large bowl.  Add dry ingredients to the oil mixture. Blend in carrots and pecans.
Flour and grease two 9″ cake pans and divide batter into pans.   Bake at 350 for 40 min to an hour (test with toothpick starting at 40 min. )  If you make cupcakes, they only take 20 minutes, but test them with a toothpick first. If it comes out dry, your cupcakes are ready. Donna’s recipe is for a bundt cake, but I like having two layers because of the additional cream cheese in the middle.

Fran’s Cream Cheese Frosting 
1 8 oz. package of Philadelphia Cream Cheese
1/2 c .butter
1 lb. confectioners sugar
4 Tbsp. half and half or whipping cream
Pinch of salt (to taste)
1 to 2 tsp. vanilla
Bring cream cheese and butter to room temperature.  Mix well in an electric mixer until fluffy.  Add confectioners sugar, vanilla, half and half and salt. Be sure to taste to see if there’s enough salt.  When thoroughly combined, apply to cooled cake.  Then decorate with dots and enjoy!  So what if the kids laugh!