2.08.2010

Great Grandma Carl's Carrot Cake


I may get in "trouble" for posting this but how can I not share "the best carrot cake I have ever tasted!" which has been said by many a people. Whenever you go over to my Great Grandma's house for any sort of occasion, Holidays, Family Reunions, or if you are just plain lucky, you will always find a freshly made carrot cake. This is the carrot cake I grew up on and this is the carrot cake that I compare all others to. When Brad and I got married, my Great Grandma handed down the recipe to me so that I can continue to make it for my family. I hadn't gotten around to making it until a couple weeks ago for a friend's baby shower (as you may or may not know).
(I used the carrot cake as the top tier, which I now realize I should have made the bottom carrot, and top chocolate since the chocolate cake didn't turn out so well which I'm blaming on a particular brand of chocolate that I used and won't be buying again...but that's a different story)
When I actually looked at the recipe closely, I had to call my Great Grandma to make sure I read it correct. "1 1/3 cup vegetable oil? Is that right?" yep, that was right. Vegetable oil, no butter, and 4 eggs...yeah...So I crossed my fingers hoping that my cake would turn out at least somewhat like my Great Grandma's and...it did! The girls seemed to thoroughly enjoyed it, so much so that there wasn't any left to bring home to Brad! Oh well, tough luck for him ;o) No, I'm kidding. He got to eat the crown of the cake that I had cut off.

Great Grandma Carl's Carrot Cake
family recipe passed down to me by Pauline Carl

2 cups sugar
1 1/3 cup oil
4 eggs
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 cups grated carrots

  • Grate carrots in a food processor (or blender like my Great Grandma, who adds a bit of water to the mix to help with the process). Drain any water that has been extracted.
  • Mix together sugar, oil, and eggs (one at a time)
  • Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon then add to wet ingredients
  • Beat in 3 cups of grated carrots
(I'm sorry, but isn't this just dying to be licked?)
  • Bake at 350 degrees. 40 mins for 2 10" pans, 35 mins for 3 9" pans or 50 mins for a 9x13" cake.
  • Frost and enjoy!


Great Grandma's Cream Cheese Frosting
1 lb Powdered Sugar
1 stick Butter
8oz of Cream Cheese
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
  • Allow cream cheese and butter to come to room temperature.
  • Beat ingredients together.
  • Frost cake and add nuts on top.
 
(That's my Great Grandma's Recipe in the background)

2 comments:

macorn said...

Oh, Sissy! What a sweet, sweet thing to post Great Grandma's fabulous carrot cake & frosting recipes! I want to say that I think the best part of it is seeing her handwriting on the Internet, a blog, that I am receiving via WiFi...from Battle Creek to Chicago & back to Kalamazoo! When Mima & I took Great Grandma out to dinner last month @ North 11 to see Krissy (Dani), we all three had carrot cake for dessert - and all agreed it just wasn't as good as Grandma's! Yum-yum! Grandma said that you had called & wants to make you & Brad one of her cakes the next time you're in town. I need to read through some more of your recipes & see how many other fond memories can be "stirred" up (ya like that pun?). I love you, Baby Girl - all grown up! Vaya con Dios, Tu mizpah madre <3

"MA" said...

Oh, I also wanted to mention that Great Grandma would give you one of her 'looks' if you tried to serve someone that small of a portion of her cake, her pies, anything that she's prepared. Even after a stuffed-to-the-gills holiday dinner, Great Grandma is going to dish out a quarter of her raspberry pie topped with a dollop - no, a "diplob" - of fresh whipped cream! Ah, sweet, sweet memories - literally! Love ya, mean it! vcd/tmm