Try it Tuesday

I've never been a fan of carrot cake... until yesterday. D asked Mrs. Debbie what her favorite cake was so I found a recipe and fixed it. All. From. Scratch. Even the cream cheese icing. It's ok, you can act shocked. I was when I decided to try it. It was very easy and I will definitely make it again. I found it under Paula Deen's section on food network.com. Anything by Paula Deen is delicious...not at all nutritious...but oh so delicious so I decided it was the recipe to go with. Thankfully my guests weren't disappointed either. Here's the recipe:

Grandma Hiers' Carrot Cake

Ingredients

• Butter, for pans
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 3 cups grated carrots
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, optional

Frosting:

• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 stick salted butter, room temperature
• 1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) round pans; Line bottom of the pans with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Add eggs and vegetable oil. Using a hand mixer, blend until combined. Add carrots and pecans, if using.

Pour into pans. Bake for approximately 40 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pans, place on waxed paper and allow to cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:

Add all ingredients, except nuts, into a medium bowl and beat until fluffy using a hand mixer. Stir in the nuts. Spread frosting on top of each cake layer. Stack the cakes on a serving plate and serve.

Enjoy!