It’s been a very long time since I’ve attempted to make a carrot cake. Without the cream cheese frosting it just doesn’t taste the same. I made one a little over 10 years ago and the cake was fine, but the frosting pretty much sucked. I made cream cheese frosting about a year ago. It was close, but it still wasn’t quite right. Lately, I’ve been craving a piece (or two) of carrot cake. So, what is a girl to do? Well, make it herself! I did and I am very happy with the results. This cake is light and rich at the same time. The frosting is about as close to the real thing as I can remember. The key to the frosting is to use the Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese. The consistency and taste is the best that I have found so far.
Carrot Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp cream of tartar
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 3 cups finely grated carrots
- 4 eggs
- 1 ¼ cup canola oil
- 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 2 8oz tubs of Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese
- 1 cup of Fleischmanns Unsalted Margarine Sticks
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
- 4 tsp lemon juice
- 1 2lb bag confectioners sugar
"Cream Cheese" Frosting
- 2 8oz tubs of Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese
- 1 cup of Fleischmanns Unsalted Margarine Sticks
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp salt
- 4 tsp lemon juice
- 1 2lb bag confectioners sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Grease and flour 3 9-inch round cake pans.
- Combine the first 6 ingredients (flour-cinnamon) in a medium bowl.
- Whisk to combine.
- Grate the carrots using the fine grater blade of your food processor or the fine grate side of your hand grater.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat oil, sugars, eggs, and vanilla extract.
- Mix the dry ingredients with the wet.
- Stir in grated carrots.
- Evenly divide the cake batter into the 3 cake pans.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack.
- Remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.
- Frost and assemble cake.
"Cream Cheese" Frosting
- Bring the “cream cheese” and margarine to room temperature.
- Beat the “cream cheese” and margarine in a large mixing bowl.
- Mix in vanilla, salt, and lemon juice.
- Mix in confectioners’ sugar a little at a time.
Notes
Optional: Toast 1 cup of chopped pecans and sprinkle on top of the cake or press onto the sides of the cake immediately after frosting.
You can also add 1 cup of toasted chopped pecans the cake batter. I chose not to do that this time.
