Carrot Cake

This is the best carrot cake I have personally ever had. I would be shocked if there is a better one out there, but feel free to prove me wrong. This is a 9.5. Some carrot cakes contain canned pineapple and orange zest and coconut, and I am sure those are great, but this is more traditional.

Ultimate Carrot Cake

By Greg Case Fine Cooking Issue 63

• Softened butter and flour for the pan
• 1/2 cup dried currants I leave these out
• 1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 10 oz. (2-1/4 cups) all-purpose flour measure this
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. table salt
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon I am generous with this, probably 1 1/2 tsp.
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg I am generous with all the seasonings, and I also add 1/4 tsp. ginger
• 1/4 tsp. ground allspice
• 1/4 tsp. ground mace
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 3 oz. (3/4 cup) walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped I always do walnuts
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1-1/2 cups granulated sugar I do a scant cup
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar I do a packed 1/3 cup
• 1 cup vegetable oil I also add 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 cup walnut oil (preferably toasted walnut oil) I just do olive oil for this

For the frosting: I cut this in half

• 8 oz. (1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and completely softened at room temperature
• 1 lb. cream cheese, cut into pieces and completely softened at room temperature
• 4-1/4 oz. (1 cup) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 1 Tbs. pure vanilla extract
• 1 oz. (1/2 cup) chopped walnuts or pecans for garnish (optional)

OK, so you combine all the dry ingredients. You mix the sugar and eggs and then slowly stream in the oil and then add the vanilla. You put the carrots in a food processor until they are shredded small, like couscous. Then, you gently stir in the carrots and the flour mixture and the nuts. You can bake this in 2 9-inch pans or in a 9x13 pan at 350 for probably 40 minutes for the big pan and 20-25 for the smaller ones.
Recipe and instructions for carrot cake can be found at address below:
https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/ultimate-carrot-cake

For the candied carrot peels

You peel about 20 slices with a peeler off of a long carrot. You simmer this for 15 minutes in a mixture of 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water. You drain them and then quickly and carefully lay them flat on a sheet pan and bake them for 30 minutes at 225 degrees. Then, you quickly take them off and roll them around a big metal straw or the bottom of a wooden spoon handle. You can sprinkle them with sugar when you are done, if you like. Here is where I found instructions for these:

https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/candied-carrot-curls-recipe