King Arthur's Carrot Cake

🥘 Ingredients

• vegetable oil 1 ¼ cups
• granulated sugar 2 cups
• table salt 1 tsp
• large eggs 4
• cinnamon 1 tbsp
• ginger ½ tsp
• cloves ¼ tsp
• baking powder 1 ½ tsp
• baking soda ½ tsp
• King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 2 cups
• carrots 3 cups
• chopped pecans or walnuts 1 ½ cups
• unsalted butter 8 tbsp
• cream cheese 1 8-ounce package
• table salt ¼ tsp
• King Arthur Pure Vanilla Extract 2 tsp
• King Arthur Fiori di Sicilia ½ tsp
• confectioners' sugar 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 cups
• ?milk or heavy cream 1 tsp

Cake

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease two round layer pan 9" , or one pan 9" x 13" .
2. 2

   In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together vegetable oil , granulated sugar , table salt , large eggs , cinnamon , ginger , cloves , baking powder , and baking soda .
3. 3

   Weigh your King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour ; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess.
4. 4

   Add the flour, stirring until well blended.
5. 5

   Add carrots (finely grated) and chopped pecans or walnuts (toasted for best flavor), and mix until just blended. Pour into the prepared pan(s).
6. 6

   Bake the cake(s) for 35 to 40 minutes , or until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Allow the cake(s) to cool completely before frosting. If you're using round layer pans, remove the layers from the pans after 15 minutes , and place them on a rack to cool.

Frosting

1. 1

   In a large bowl working with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat unsalted butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add table salt and King Arthur Pure Vanilla Extract or King Arthur Fiori di Sicilia . Beat in confectioners' sugar . Add ?milk or heavy cream if the frosting is too stiff to spread; add additional sugar if it's too thin.
2. 2

   Frost the sheet cake right in the pan. For the layers, frost the top of one layer, top with the second layer, and frost the top and sides of the cake. For helpful tips, see our blog post: How to assemble and frost a layer cake.
3. 3

   Refrigerate the cake. An hour or so before serving, remove it from the refrigerator and bring it to room temperature. Refrigerate any leftovers, well wrapped, for a day or so; freeze for longer storage.