carrot cake with cream cheese icing

I remember the first time I had carrot cake. It was at a wedding — my friend's older sister's beautiful August wedding about four years ago. The reception was great. The bride was only 21, so there were a bunch of young guests dancing to funky music on a side stage, and the restaurant we were in was decorated like a nighttime forest. There were trees strung with twinkling white lights. There were coy ponds with huge, colorful swimmers in them, and white bridges crossing over the water. There were flowers blossoming from dozens of vases, and the floors were strewn with fall leaves.

Tucked behind a tree was the table with the cake ... a three- or four-layer thing iced in creamy white frosting. It looked so elegant. So imagine my surprise when they cut into it and it had this chunky orange thing going on inside. The carrot cake was crumbly and dry, with hunks of nuts and raisins tucked in. Really not my thing. With a buildup like that, my first taste of carrot cake, at 17, was pretty disappointing. (Side note: Can you believe I was 17 and hadn't eaten carrot cake?! Who am I?)

Anyway, I think I only had carrot cake once since then. It wasn't too spectacular. But they say your taste buds are always changing, and that must be true because I suddenly decided, in the last few weeks, that the idea of a carrot cake was absolutely amazing. I knew it would be delicious if it were spongy and smooth, without any nuts or — ugh — raisins. So my friend T. Buck sent over her mom's recipe, with assurance that it was delicious and "moist" — and that's saying something, because T. Buck hates using that word. Me too, actually.

But moist is totally accurate for this cake. It's thick, but its spongy texture makes it taste very light. The cake itself isn't too sweet (you could eat it without icing for a snack), but when you smear on a thick layer of cream cheese icing, it becomes a very satisfying, smooth dessert. And it kind of feels healthy, you know, with all those veggies in there.

Carrot Cake

Adapted from T. Buck's recipe

For the cake:

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

4 eggs

1 cup oil

4 cups grated carrots (I used about 3 1/3, as I ran out. It works fine.)

Stir together the flour, sugar, baking soda and cinnamon in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs until they're frothy. Slowly add in the oil. Gradually add in the flour mixture, stirring until smooth. Fold in the carrots.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. (That's for a sheet cake, like I made. For two pans, lower the baking time slightly.)

For the icing:

4 tablespoons butter, softened

1 8-oz. package of cream cheese (low fat works fine)

powdered sugar

touch of milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

I kind of improvised here. Cream the butter and cream cheese together, and add in the vanilla. Gradually add in 1/2 cup of powdered sugar at a time, until you've reached your desired texture and sweetness. Use a splash of milk if you need to. Smooth icing over the cooled cake and ... eat.