.aunt vivian's carrot cake.

This recipe was added to our family cookbook from my mom, Carolyn. As children, we used to have carrot cake a lot... I think it was my mom's way of getting vegetables into us. This recipe was given to my mom from my great aunt Vivian. Preserving family recipes is a lot like preserving your family history. Food tells a lot about a person and I love having these to make for my family.



In a bowl, sift together 2 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 2 cups sugar.









The key to this recipe is crushed pineapple. It gives the cake sweetness and makes it really moist. This can is huge. I only used a little over half of it and froze the rest. Make sure you either use a smaller can or only use half or so. Make sure you drain the juice out first. SAVE THE JUICE! We're going to need it later.













In a bowl, put 2 eggs, 1 cup oil, 2 cups shredded carrot, a little over 1 cup of crushed pineapple (8.5oz), 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional).

Mix together well with a fork.

Dump the wet into the dry and mix together using a whisk or spatula.

Pour into a prepared 13x9" cake pan. Bake at 350* for 50-60 minutes. A toothpick inserted will come out clean.

Doesn't that look yummy? Set the entire cake on a cooling rack so air can flow over and under it. Once the cake is cooled, slather on the cream cheese frosting.

In a mixing bowl, put 1/4 cup butter and 1 8oz pkg cream cheese. Use the beater attachment and mix well.

Add 5-6 cups powdered sugar slowly, one scoop at a time. Don't dump it all in otherwise when you turn the mixer on you'll get a huge mushroom cloud of powdered sugar. lol

Alternate adding powdered sugar and the pineapple juice you reserved.

When you reach the consistency you want, add a tsp of vanilla and mix well. Spread all over your cooled cake.

Printable version:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dg2vfjqm_53k2t94nc5