Comforting Carrot Cake

I just had two very good friends over for dinner last night and had a blast. I made my favorite tandoori salmon with rice and broccoli and fried up some of my homemade korean dumplings for an appetizer. I was stumped when I tried to come up with a good asian dessert (beside fruit) and i knew the overall dinner was pretty healthy and I wanted something very satisfying for dessert. I decided on making carrot cake, which I've never done before. It turned out very delicious and sweet! :)


INGREDIENTS

* 4 eggs
* 1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
* 2 cups white sugar
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 3 cups grated carrots
* 1 cup chopped pecans

* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
* 4 cups confectioners' sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan.

2. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Stir in carrots and pecans. Pour into prepared pan.

3. Bake in the preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean (my cake took 53 minutes!). Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

4. To Make Frosting: In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Frost the cooled cake.

This recipe is wonderful! I had two pieces of cake for dessert. :)