carrot cake

hi there.

i'm still working on the layout here. my goal was for my pictures to be bigger, but i have work to do on the proportion of everything. i couldn't stay away too long, though, so bear with the mess while i share a recipe today.

i've been so in love with all the different carrots varieties this summer. i find myself buying purple carrots most weekends at the market just to slice them open and revel in their beauty. they are purple on the outside and bright, contrasting orange on the inside. it is fabulous. last night i made my favorite carrot cake recipe with a mixture of orange, purple and yellow carrots. this recipe is my dad's, it is extra moist from the pineapple juice and it is perfectly textured with coconut and a mixture of raisins and walnuts. last night i made a point of making this machine-less. if you're in need of some simplicity, this recipe is easy to do make with just a bowl, wooden spoon and box grater.

tom's carrot cake (with some anna notes)
1-1/2 cups sugar (this time i used 1 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup brown)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs

1-3/4 cups flour
2 tea baking soda
1/2 tea salt
3/4 tea cinnamon

3/4 cup drained crushed pineapple
1/2 cup drained pineapple juice
1 cup coconut
3 cups grated carrots
3/4 cup raisins or toasted walnuts
(sometimes i do one or the other, sometimes i do a blend of both)

mix the sugar, oil, and eggs in a large bowl.
in a smaller bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
add dry ingredients to oil mixture and mix until just smooth.
add the remaining ingredients and mix until incorporated.

pour into a 10" cake pan or two loaf pans that have been buttered or sprayed with spray oil.

bake at 350 until top is firm (i had to call my dad and beg for an estimate on when i can look for the top to be firm. it ended up taking 45-50 minutes with the cake pan. if using loaf pans, i'd check it at 30-35 minutes)

this cake really doesn't need all the frosting of a normal cake, it is dark and colorful and beautiful on it's own and it is certainly rich and flavorful enough. if you were to add icing, however, i recommend the smitten kitchen maple cream cheese frosting.

enjoy!