Simple carrot cake with cream cheese frosting recipe

This recipe for carrot cake is now even simpler to make thanks to some minor adjustments. Most recipes like this one use all-purpose flour, but this one will be using self-raising flour for easier leavening. This works best for recipes that require 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder per cup of flour. This carrot cake also goes well with a handful of glazes but a simple cream cheese frosting--much like the one for this red velvet cake--will do the trick. Now it's time to get baking.

The recipe

Cake Ingredients:

• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup (224 g) vegetable oil
• 1 cup (200 g)brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• 2 cups (250 g) self-raising flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 3 medium carrots grated

Frosting Ingredients:

• 1 stick (113 g) unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup (40 g) confectioner's sugar
• 1 cup (225 g) cream cheese

The Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease the insides of a couple of 9-inch round cake pans with butter and dust them with flour, shaking out any loose flour.
2. Whisk together the eggs, vegetable oil, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract together in a bowl until smooth.
3. Sift the flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg into the bowl. Stir in the dry mixture using a wooden spoon. Add the grated carrots and mix everything together.
4. Divide the batter equally among the round pans. Place into the oven side by side without touching and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centers comes out clean.
5. Cool the cakes in pans for 5 minutes, then turn out on a cake rack to cool for an additional 10 minutes.
6. While the cakes cool, make the icing. Beat together the butter and confectioner's sugar for 3 minutes or until it turns fluffy. Beat in the cream cheese until fully combined.
7. When the cakes cool, it's time to start layering them. Place one of the cakes flat on a stand or plate, then take the blade of a sharp knife and position it horizontally touching the point where the dome and wall of the cake meet. Carefully slice through enough of the dome for the knife to go completely under while keeping the blade as flat as possible, then flip the blade over along with the slice portion of cake. Repeat slicing and flipping until all of the dome is removed. Do the same with the second cake's dome if desired.
8. Spread half of the frosting over the flat top of the cake. Place the second cake on top of the frosted surface of the first. Spread the remaining icing over the second cake's top.
9. Slice and serve.

Serves: 16 slices