Lauren's Carrot Cake
For the Cake:
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup natural applesauce (no added sugar)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
2 t baking soda
2 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 t cinnamon
3/4 t nutmeg
1 t vanilla extract
3 cups shredded carrots
1/2 cup walnuts (finely chopped)
Mix the sugar, oil, and applesauce together. Add eggs one at a time, blending well in between. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt together. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture and mix. Add carrots, vanilla, and nuts and finish mixing. Spray 2 round cake pans w/ Pam. Divide the cake evenly between the 2 cake pans. Bake on 325 for 40 min or until a toothpick comes out clean.
For the Icing:
2 8 oz blocks of 1/3 fat cream cheese (room temp)
1 stick unsalted butter (room temp)
4 cups powdered sugar
zest of 1 orange
scrapings of 1/2 vanilla bean
1 t vanilla extract
Mix the above ingredients together in a mixer until creamy. Ice the cakes when cooled completely and store in the refrigerator.
