Carroty carrot cake

In search of a reliable carrot cake recipe? Look no further!

• 3 cups grated carrots
• 2 cup sall-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 4 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple with juice
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans

• 1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups icing sugar

• Orange pipe icing
• Fresh mint leaves - a few sprigs per cake

Method:

1. First things first, preheat your oven to 180ºC. Grease and flour a rectangular 9x13-inch cake tin.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the grated carrots, flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add the eggs (one by one), oil, vanilla extract, crushed pineapple and chopped pecans, and stir until combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes until a metal skewer (or knife) inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
3. Transfer the cake, still in the pan, to a cooling rack to cool completely. When cool, turn the tin upside down onto a large chopping board.
4. With the cake cooling on the side, prep the cream cheese frosting. In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract, until smooth. Gradually sift in the icing sugar until combined.
5. Once the cake has cooled completely, frost it with the cream cheese frosting then slice it into carrot-shaped pieces.  Cutting the 9 x 13-inch cake into carrot-shaped slices requires discarding (and/or eating) a small portion of the cake - these can be your ‘testers’!
6. Pipe the orange icing across the top of the cake slices in your preferred pattern, and then carefully insert a couple of fresh mint sprigs into the top of each slice of cake.
7. Serve immediately.