Carrot Cake

I hadn't made this carrot cake recipe for quite a while because I had it in my mind that peeling and grating a couple of carrots would take a long time. Finally my desire for carrot cake overcame my laziness, and yesterday I made the cake. And do you know what? I realized that peeling and grating a couple of carrots really doesn't take very long at all. And the resulting carrot cake is so good that it's more than worth spending the couple of minutes it takes to prepare the carrots.

This recipe is adapted from the recipe for Spiced Carrot Cake in my Bride and Groom, First and Forever Cookbook.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
makes an 8"x8" cake

Ingredients for the Cake:

• 1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten-free flour
• 1 1/4 cups and 2 Tbsp. white granulated sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp. (1 1/2 tsp.) baking soda
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup canola oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract without corn syrup and preferably alcohol-free
• 3/4 cup peeled and grated carrot (about 2 or 3 medium-size carrots)
• 1 jar (4 ounces) baby food carrot puree
• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut. Do not get sweetened shredded coconut because Michael has started reacting to it, probably to the propylene glycol. If you cannot find unsweetened shredded coconut, just omit the coconut from the recipe.
  

Instructions for the Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate medium-size bowl whisk together the 2 eggs, canola oil, and vanilla extract. Pour the liquid mixture into the large bowl and mix on low speed for 1 minute until the ingredients are fully combined. Add the grated carrot, baby food carrot puree, and shredded coconut to the large bowl and mix until just combined. Pour the batter into a greased 8"x8" baking pan and bake for about 45 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. When the cake has cooled completely, spread on the cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients for the Frosting:

• 4 ounces of cream cheese (not low-fat)
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 cup of superfine granulated sugar. I use Domino's brand. This is different from powdered sugar, which contains cornstarch.
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract that does not have corn syrup and is preferably alcohol-free, since the alcohol could be made from corn or wheat.
  

Instructions for the Frosting:

Let the cream cheese and butter soften at room temperature. Then put the cream cheese, butter, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl and mix at medium-low speed for several minutes until the frosting is well combined and creamy.