The Best Carrot Cake

There are people out there who don’t like carrot cake, but we don’t know what they’re thinking. While it may not be the prettiest cake you’ll ever lay eyes on, (and yes, its main ingredient is a root vegetable) carrot cake is as flavorful and delicious as the day is long. It’s been around for eons, which means that there has been plenty of opportunity for carrot cake recipes to be tweaked and perfected over time. Like this one here. It’s our go-to carrot cake recipe. Moist and speckled with flavorful bites of carrot, pineapple, spice, and nuts, we think it’s just about perfect.

INGREDIENTS
3 cups carrots, finely shredded
8 ounces crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon orange zest
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

PREPARATION
Preheat oven to 350°F and lightly grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, allspice, and nutmeg. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the oil and white and brown sugars and beat with an electric mixer on medium until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add orange zest and vanilla and continue beating until light and fluffy.
Slowly add in the flour mixture, beating until batter is even and smooth. Fold in carrots, pineapple, and walnuts and pour batter into the prepared pans.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool for 5-10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Adorn with your favorite cream cheese frosting and enjoy!