Carrot Cake with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

Prep time: 35 minutes

Yields: Two 9 inch round cakes

This weekend is all about Carrot Cake! But i've been thinking. When everyone says “Eat your vegetables,” they meant Carrot Cake too, right? I KNOW this cake includes carrots, and I can definitely see the little specks of orange sprinkled throughout. So in conclusion, we learned today that Carrot Cake is indeed a vegetable and you can have as much as you want! Now that we’ve established that you’re more than allowed to enjoy a slice (or 2) of this cake, I guess that the creamy sweet Cinnamon buttercream on top is your special treat for the day? I mean come on, you can’t have the cake without it!

I noticed recently that I typically gravitate towards baking really rich chocolatey desserts, and was looking to experiment with some other treats. After some time I finally tweaked and worked out my recipe for this moist and delectable cake! Not only does it have a natural sweetness from the carrots, but it has a warmness from the spices that just make you all happy inside! The apple sauce allows the cake to remain moist, and enhances all the other cake components. Like most of my other recipes, this one can also be adapted to your liking. Add in some crushed pineapple, toasted pecans, or even coconut flakes!Try it out and share with your loved ones! Get baking whiskers!

Ingredients

1 cup oil

¾ cup applesauce

1 ½ cups brown sugar

3 eggs

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla

2 ½ cup flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ teaspoon baking powder

1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon ginger

¼ teaspoon cloves

½ heaping teaspoon salt

1 ½ cup shredded carrots

Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

1 cup butter/margarine

4 cups powdered sugar

1-2 tablespoon milk

2 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of salt

Optional: ½ cup-¾ cup pecans & coconut flakes

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray your baking tins with non-stick spray

2. In a stand mixer, combine sugar and oil and mix until there are no brown clumps. Add in applesauce, vanilla and eggs one at a time. Mix until all incorporated

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Slowly begin to incorporate into the wet mixture without over mixing.

4.Fold in the shredded carrots and pour evenly into greased tins

5.Bake cakes for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean

6. While the cakes are baking, combine the butter, powdered sugar and milk in a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Once the powdered sugar is incorporated, add in the vanilla, cinnamon and salt.

7. When cakes are baked and cooled, place the first cake on a cake stand and layer with frosting. Place the second cake on top, and frost the top and sides of the cake. Decorate with pecans, or any other desired topping. Refrigerate for at least an hour before slicing and enjoying!