Cheers to Happy: Carrot Cake...

Today I am writing my 500th blog. It is hard to believe I have written so many. I started the blog in the fall of 2009. I was such a blog follower myself, and often passed the time leap frogging from blog to blog. After a phone conversation with my cousin about blogs, she said we should have a blog, and wouldn't it be fun? Sure I thought so too, and the next day "Cheers to Happy", was born. It has always been my happy place. It is very personal to me. So much of "me" is in my happy blog. My love of cooking, creating and family. When I look back at older posts, it is like a journal. It takes me right back to where I was and what I was feeling when I wrote it.

I am still honored and humbled to have followers from all over the world. The five most popular blogs are surprising even to me...Caesar Salad Dressing is overwhelmingly number 1..and I had quickly thrown together the number's 2 and 4 most popular.. the Strawberry Rhubarb Salad dressing and Raspberry Milkshake.....Pork Gyros at number 3...and the Pumpkin Gingerbread Pie is number 5...All are very good....

I have had really good guest bloggers...that makes it so fun. I have a great sister Mary who has written many blogs and edits many of my blogs. I type like I talk, and sometimes the grammar could be better, and well the spelling too....I will work on that.

To Celebrate the big 5-0-0, I decided to make my favorite dessert of all time, Carrot Cake. I have been a carrot cake lover for years. I like all carrot cake. Good and ok carrot cake. There is no bad carrot cake. Carrot cake falls in the same category as crab, shrimp, avocados and mushrooms in my house. If someone doesn't care for it, it is fine with me, I will eat my piece and theirs too!

Carrot Cake

Ingredients

2 generous cups grated carrots
½ cup crushed pineapple
1 cup chopped walnuts
3 cups flour or gluten free flour
2½ teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
5 eggs
1½ cups sugar
1½ cups coconut oil, melted
1 1/4 cups applesauce
FOR THE ICING:
12 ounces (about 1½ packs) of cream cheese, room temp
½ cup (1 stick) soft butter
1⅓ cup powder sugar
2 Tablespoons freshly grated orange rind
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep two circle 9 inch cake pans by lining with parchment paper and spray with Pam.
In the first bowl, toss together the carrots, walnuts and pineapple. Add ½ cup of flour and set aside.
In a second bowl mix together the dry ingredients: the remaining 2½ cups flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, soda, powder and salt.
In a large mixing bowl beat the eggs and sugar together. Watch for them to lighten and become thicker, at least 3-5 minutes of beating. When it reaches this point, add the applesauce and coconut oil while softly beating.
Gently add the dry ingredients next. Fold in the carrots/pineapple/walnut mixture from before to create a light loose batter.
Divide batter between the two pans and bake for 35 minutes, until a tester comes out clean and they are springy in the middle, not jiggly.
Let the cakes cool in the pans, on a rack, for at least 15 minutes. Remove and let them finish cooling out of the pan on the racks. Frost when completely cooled.
TO MAKE THE FROSTING: beat together the cream cheese and butter for 3-5 minutes, until it lightens up. Add the sugar and vanilla next until reached desired sweetness. Beat another minute until light and fluffy. Throw in the remaining ingredients and gently mix.