Christmas Carrot Cake

Happy Holidays to those who celebrate them! If not, Happy Winter Solstice! Mr. FBBQ was born on Christmas Eve so I had to make his favorite cake for him! When we first started dating he told me he liked carrot cake. Of course, I had to find a recipe and make him one from scratch! This is the one!

To bake this cake and make the frosting, we will need the following ingredients: carrots (obviously), vanilla, flour, sugar, ground nutmeg, cinnamon, butter, avocado oil, baking soda, baking powder, 3 bricks of cream cheese, 6 eggs, powdered sugar, brown sugar, and salt. We will also need 3 eight inch round pans or 2 nine inch ones, a hand mixer, and a stand mixer.

To start, grease and flour the pans. Set the oven to 375 degrees. Set the pans aside.

In the stand mixer, add 2 1/2 c. plus 2 tbsp. of avocado oil (you can also use vegetable or canola oil), 1 c. of sugar, and 1 c. of brown sugar. Combine until smooth, then add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla. Mix until smooth.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg. Blend this into the wet mixture in the stand mixer.

Next you will need to grate a pound of carrots. The easiest way to do this is with a food processor. Also, it makes a huge mess! Had to vacuum and mop the kitchen when I was done with this recipe. Carrot bits everywhere! Flour and powdered sugar dusting everything!

Mix the grated carrots into the mixture in the stand mixer. That might be the most I’ve ever used variations of “mix” in one sentence!

Pour the batter into the cake pans and bake!

While the cake is baking, we can make the frosting. In a large bowl, mix together the cream cheese and butter with a hand mixer until smooth. Add vanilla and a dash of salt. Fold in 6 cups of powdered sugar (or more to thicken). Set this aside until the cakes are done and cooled.

Once the cakes are done baking, set them aside to fully cool before frosting them. Use one cake as a base and frost it, including the top. Put the second cake on top and frost that. Frost the sides, smooth it out and you are ready to enjoy!

My cakes turned out a little lopsided and broke on one side. Most of my baked goods won’t win any points in the presentation department, but they taste delicious!!

Once you’re done frosting the cake, put it in the fridge to chill. Cream cheese frosting is one of my favorites and I think it tastes better cold!

Happy Birthday to the best husband a gal could ask for!!!!!!

🍖ForensicBBQ comment: I had to add a new “Treats” category for this delicious addition! You’ll find it under “Scraps” for the time being.. if you want to see more desserts and sweets, let us know. My favorite cake is indeed the carrot cake, and Mrs delivered on it deliciously!