I'm not sure which recipe Sherry uses, I'm sure she will post it for you.

I have this one, which was posted here...

BILLS BIG CARROT CAKE

Baking From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan

FOR THE CAKE
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups grated carrots (About 9 carrots; I grate them in a food processor fitted with a shredding blade
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
1/2 cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) or dried cranberries
2 cups sugar
1 cup canola or safflower oil
4 large eggs

FOR THE FROSTING
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 pound (3 3/4 cups) confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or 1/2 teaspoon pure lemon extract
1/2 cup shredded coconut (optional)

Finely chopped toasted nuts and/or toasted shredded coconut, for topping (optional)

GETTING READY: Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the 325 degrees F. Butter three 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, flour the insides and tap out the excess. Put two pans on one baking sheet and one on another.
THE CAKE: Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut and raisins.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and oil together on medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs one by one, and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear. Gently mix in the chunky ingredients. Divide the batter among the baking pans.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to the midway point, until a thin knife inserted into the centers comes out clean; the cakes will have just started to come away from the sides of the pans. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and unmold them. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up. (The cakes can be wrapped airtight and kept at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.)

TO MAKE THE FROSTING: Working with the stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the lemon juice or extract.
If youÂd like coconut in the filling, scoop out about half of the frosting and stir the coconut into this portion.

TO ASSEMBLE THE CAKE: Put one layer top side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. If you added the coconut to the frosting, use half of the coconut frosting to generously cover the first layer (or cover generously with plain frosting). Use an offset spatula or a spoon to smooth the frosting all the way to the edges of the layer. Top with the second layer, this time placing the cake top side down, and frost with the remainder of the coconut frosting (or more plain frosting). Top with the last layer, right side up, and frost the topÂand the sides, if you wantÂof the cake. Finish the top with swirls of frosting. If you want to top the cake with toasted nuts or coconut, sprinkle them on now, while the frosting is soft.

Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes, just to set the frosting before serving.

MAKES 10 SERVINGS

SERVING: The cake can be served as soon as the frosting is set. It can also wait, at room temperature and covered with a cake keeper, overnight. The cake is best served in thick slices at room temperature and while it's good plain, it's best with vanilla ice cream or even some Lemon Curd (page 462) with a little whipped cream folded in.

STORING: Covered, the cake will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. It can also be frozen. Freeze it uncovered, then, when it is firm, wrap air-tight and freeze for up to 2 months; defrost, still wrapped, in the refrigerator overnight.

Nancy

Okay Bobby, here it is. We do love this recipe better than any other we have ever had. Here goes:

Blue Ribbon Carrot Cake

2 cup flour
2 tsp. soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
Sift the above together and set aside.

Beat 3 eggs and add:
3/4 cup oil
3/4 cup buttermilk (if you don't have buttermilk, put one Tbs. vinegar in a 3/4 cup measuring cup and then fill with milk. Let stand 5 minutes and stir)
2 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
8 oz. can crushed pineapple (drained)
2 cups grated carrots
3-1/2 oz. coconut
1 cup chopped nuts

Beat the above well and add to dry ingredients.

Pour into a well-greased 13 x 9 pan. Bake 55 minutes at 350. Frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 stick softened butter
8 oz. block softened cream cheese
2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
Mix well and spread on cooled cake. Sprinkle top with chopped nuts.

Good luck Bobby!

Sheshebop (Sherry)

Thank you very much! I assume the oil is vegetable oil? Does the coconut mean coconut milk or coconut flakes?

Thanks again!

Hi Bobby -

I use Canola oil and Baker's flake sweetened coconut - you find this in the baking isle in Publix. Enjoy your cake and playing with your mixer and food processor! :)

This is without a doubt the best carrot cake I have ever tasted.....and everyone I have served it to says the same.

Carrot cake Julie Ts
3 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tsps cinnamon
1 8 oz can crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup raisins chopped with 1 Tablespoon of flour
Buttermilk glaze
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter
1 Tblsp light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup softened butter
4 oz softened cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp orange juice
1 tsp grated orange rind
Preheat oven to 350
With a mixer Beat eggs, add oil and buttermilk, sugar and vanilla. beat to combine. Stir together flour, salt, cinnamon and baking powder and stir into batter. stir in pineapple, carrots and raisins.
Pour into a greased 8 by 13 pan or 2 greased round 9 inch cake pans. Bake 35 to 45 minutes until set in the middle. Remove from the oven and immediatly spread with the buttermilk glaze. Cool completely and frost with the cream cheese frosting.
Buttermilk glaze:
In a medium sauce pan ( don't use a small pan) combine all ingredients but vanilla. Bring to a boil and cook 3 minutes stirring often...it will bubble a lot. It should be a light caramel color, stir in vanilla and pour over the cake
Cream cheese frosting:
Beat cream cheese and butter until light add vanilla powd. sugar and juice and rind...beat until smooth and frost the cooled cake.

I second the recipe that Linda posted as being amazing. Linda, I would still love to get my hands on that cookbook.

Well, the cake is in the oven, the frosting is in the mixer bowl, the dishwasher is cleaning the mess and I'm exhausted. Did I mention I have to leave for work in 20 minutes? Yeah, that too!

The cake was very easy to make, and I think I'm going to enjoy it more than my stand by Joy of Baking recipe. Hope the birthday boy lets me try some! Thank you Sherry also for including that tip about the homemade buttermilk. I knew you could do that, but I forgot the proportions. I had some buttermilk on hand (for another recipe, I don't drink the stuff), but it was expired so I did use "homemade" buttermilk. I followed the recipe exactly, though I added some nutmeg too. I didn't use the mixer or food processor for the cake because it was still dark out when I started and I didn't want to wake the upstairs neighbors with appliances going. I used a wooden spoon to mix, and the knuckle grater for the carrots. I did nick a knuckle while doing the carrots! It's been a while since I've hurt myself on the grater. Maybe I can round it out by burning myself when I take the cake out of the oven. :o) I was reminded how much time the food processor saves though it is loud and a dreadful thing to clean.

Thanks again for re-posting the recipe.

I meant to ask how many cups 3 and 1/2 oz of coconut are. I'd guess one at the most?? My scale was broken in a tragic accident (cats climbing on the kitchen counter to eat the venus fly trap in the windowsill sent it crashing to the tile floor). Since I couldn't weigh it (I had a 14 oz bag), I just added a couple hand fulls.

Thanks

Now to tell those pesky cats to break the bathroom scale instead of the kitchen scale!

Lindas recipe is AWESOME!!!!!

[LindaC: now is the time to fix that baking powder/soda confusion!]

I may get to try Linda's recipe sooner than I thought. Someone recommended that I use a metal pan instead of a glass one, so I bought one just to bake this cake in. Well, the edges burned! Also, the cake has tunnels in it and I was VERY careful not to overmix (especially after adding the dry ingredients)(becuase I know what happens to muffins if you overmix)... I didn't even use the electric mixer. When I get home tonight I'm going to see if I can cut off the edges and cover the tunnels with frosting or if I need to start all over.

I used a brand new box of baking soda because my old one was about a year old and my banana bread didn't rise as much as I expected it to a couple weeks ago. The oven was right at 350 according to the thermometers and it baked for 55 minutes and 4 seconds!

Anyone have a clue what I might have done wrong?

Also, the cake has tunnels in it and I was VERY careful not to overmix (especially after adding the dry ingredients)(becuase I know what happens to muffins if you overmix).

That's why you have tunnels. You didn't combine the ingredients enough. A cake is different than a muffin.

It's happened to me before until I realized that I wasn't creaming my ingredients enough. Let the batter mix for at least 1 to 2 minutes.

Note that the leavening is baking soda...and as of NOW the directions in also say soda instead of powder as in the first I posted....and now I will correct it on my copy too!!!

Carrot cake Julie Ts
3 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tsps cinnamon
1 8 oz can crushed pineapple, drained
2 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup raisins chopped with 1 Tablespoon of flour
Buttermilk glaze
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter
1 Tblsp light corn syrup
1 tsp vanilla
Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
1/2 cup softened butter
4 oz softened cream cheese
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp orange juice
1 tsp grated orange rind
Preheat oven to 350
With a mixer Beat eggs, add oil and buttermilk, sugar and vanilla. beat to combine. Stir together flour, salt, cinnamon and baking soda and stir into batter. stir in pineapple, carrots and raisins.
Pour into a greased 8 by 13 pan or 2 greased round 9 inch cake pans. Bake 35 to 45 minutes until set in the middle. Remove from the oven and immediatly spread with the buttermilk glaze. Cool completely and frost with the cream cheese frosting.
Buttermilk glaze:
In a medium sauce pan ( don't use a small pan) combine all ingredients but vanilla. Bring to a boil and cook 3 minutes stirring often...it will bubble a lot. It should be a light caramel color, stir in vanilla and pour over the cake
Cream cheese frosting:
Beat cream cheese and butter until light add vanilla powd. sugar and juice and rind...beat until smooth and frost the cooled cake.

Bobby you crack me up!

Khandi... THANK YOU. Now it makes sense! That's why cake recipes say to mix for 2 minutes on medium speed. Now I get it!!!!! :o)

In my defense, the recipe doesn't specify to beat well! Maybe it assume everyone isn't Bobby!

Thanks for appreciating my korny humor, Shaun :o)

Bobby, I think you have a problem with your oven. There is no way those edges should have burned in that cake. I think you need to test the oven temp and adjust for it.

I have two thermometers in my oven, and they both read 350 (one on the left and one on the right). Maybe they are both malfunctioning. I re-made the cake in a glass 9x13 (and I used the mixer and food processor this time... I'm done doing things manually... especially making the same cake two days in a row). It turned out fine, so I don't know what the problem was the first time.

Thanks again everyone :o)