Name: Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 90 min
Ingredients: 2 1/2 cups flour; 1 tsp cinnamon; 1 tsp salt; 2 tsp baking soda; 2 cups sugar; 1 cup oil; 3 eggs; 2 tsp vanilla; 2 1/2 cups carrots (shredded); 1/2 cup raisins; 8 oz canned crushed pineapple (loosely drained); 1 cup walnuts (coursely chopped); 8 oz cream cheese (softened); 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar (sifted); 2 tbsp lemon zest; 1 tbsp lemon juice; 1 tsp vanilla

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Carrot Cake is the main reason cake making is so much fun!

This carrot cake recipe takes the cake! It is so moist, so flavorful, and so easy! The secret ingredient is pineapple, which provides extra moisture and a zesty flavor.

This recipe was originally published in the Chicago Tribune newspaper in 1987, give or take one year. My dad made the recipe and we all loved it. Then he lost the recipe.

After trying many other recipes, with none ever coming close to being as delicious as we remembered this one to be, I went on a mission to find it. In 1999, my grandmother and I went downtown Chicago to the Newberry Library, where they kept microfiche archives of the newspapers.

We spent all day scrolling through old papers, which was no easy task. They were not organized that well, some sections were missing, and some were doubles. After about 6 hours, we found it!

I made the cake for my dad for Father’s Day, without telling him it was his lost recipe. He took one bite and exclaimed, “This is my carrot cake!” We have only made this recipe since, and I make it every year for his birthday cake.

Tips for a better Carrot Cake

Once the wet ingredients mix with the dry ingredients, the gluten will start to activate. Over-mixing or leaving the batter too long before baking will result in a chewier, or rubbery, cake.

Therefore, I always sift the dry ingredients and set aside, then put the goodies in a separate bowl, ready to stir in. I also grease the bundt pan in advance. Then I start the wet ingredients, so that the rest goes very quickly.

Like many other ingredients, the small cans of pineapple have been downsized through the years. They used to be 8.5 ounce cans. In order to compensate for the lost pineapple and corresponding moisture, I no longer fully drain the pineapple. I open the can, then just tip the can with the lid still in place, so that only the loose juice drains out. I do not squeeze at all.

The batter will be very thick, do not think you made a mistake.

Cream Cheese Frosting

This frosting uses lemon juice instead of milk or water. The zestiness of the lemon is a wonderful complement to the carrot and pineapple. I personally like an extra lemony glaze, so I add a little more juice, result in a thinner frosting that I can treat as a glaze.

Make sure the cream cheese is softened before mixing, otherwise, the cream cheese will have lumps.

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