His Favorite: Carrot Cake

Our first married Thanksgiving was spent at my parent's house. One of the good things about not hosting Thanksgiving is not having to make everything. We made mashed potatoes and a dessert.

The Hubs was in charge of the mashed potatoes and as much as I would like to share that recipe, because they are the tastiest mashed potatoes you will ever eat AND they are dairy free, he just kinda throws in a bunch of spices, margarine, Almond Milk and chicken broth until they taste right. I'm sure everyone has a recipe they make like that... mine is my hamburgers.

I was in charge of dessert. I was just going to make the Cooking Light pumpkin pie again, but then I found out we were going to someone else's house for dessert and they were already making a Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie. We couldn't very well have TWO pumpkin pies, so I decided to make a carrot cake. They extra fun part was I got to use my newly acquired cake decorating skillz to impress everyone. Who doesn't like impressing people?

The recipe I used is from Chuck-a-Rama's website.

Chuck-A-Rama (for those of you who don't know) is a Buffet chain. We've never been but the Hubs Mom lived near one in St George, UT... there is a Golden Corral right across the street and we've been there. The Hubs LOVES buffets and the only time I ever really go with him is when we visit his mom in St George. Since he only gets to go to one, Golden Corral always wins because it has a better reputation.

Ingredients
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
1 1/2 Cups Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/3 Cup Pecans, Chopped (My sister is allergic to Walnuts)
1/3 Unsweetened Apple Sauce (Used instead of Oil)
2 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
3 1/4 Cups Carrots, Shredded
(Note: I didn't add the raisins because we don't like them)

The Hubs grating the carrots for me. Those Pecan Pies are a joke gift for my FIL.

Directions
1 - Peel carrots.
2 - Shred carrots using a 1/16 of an inch shredder hole.
3 - Place first 7 ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix by hand.
4 - Add all remaining ingredients and mix by hand until well blended.
5 - Place mix into a greased round 9 inch cake pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until done.

I also cut a piece of parchment paper and put it at the bottom of the pan, this makes getting the cake out after it's baked MUCH easier.

6 - Let cool and frost with cream cheese frosting.

Frosting Ingredients

1 Pound Fat Free Cream Cheese
1/2 Cup Margarine
1 3/4 Cups Powdered Sugar
2 Teaspoon Vanilla

Directions
1. Place first 2 ingredients in a bowl and beat until smooth.
2. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula.
3. Add remaining ingredients and beat until light and fluffy.

The recipe on the website for the frosting was missing some measurements. I tried to find another recipe online but most of them called for butter instead of margarine and less cream cheese. If my sister hadn't tried to substitute margarine for butter in the frosting for my mom's birthday last year I would have just done that in a recipe with actual measurements. But since she did, I know this could happen.

The frosting melted at room temp!

I figured the extra cream cheese would keep it from melting like my mom's birthday cake. I just guessed on their measurements and I'm pretty sure I guessed right because the icing worked well and tasted delish!

I wish I'd taken a picture of the cake out of the box, but we were so excited to eat it after dinner, I forgot.