Printable Recipe: Sunny Easter Carrot Cake Recipe

Sunny Easter Carrot Cake Recipe

That it's adored by the Easter Bunny and has such a natural sweetness makes the mighty carrot the perfect addition to your Easter desserts recipes. There is a lot of variation in carrot cakes (in fact, I've got a whole other recipe for carrot cake here!)LINK and they can be cinnamon spiced, spotted with raisins, full of nuts, or topped with coconut flakes. This carrot cake recipe? It brings the bright burst of citrus to mix with the earthy carrots.

If you're looking for a nutty, spicy carrot cake recipe, try the link above. But if you're looking for a fresh-and-sunny carrot cake recipe for Easter, this one should be perfect. The orange and lemon in it really make the flavors come alive.

Makes one cake, serves about 8.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 C. whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 C. butter, softened
1 C. granulated sugar
1 C. packed brown sugar
4 eggs
1 orange, zested and juiced
1 tbsp. lemon zest
3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
4 C. peeled, grated carrots

Cream Cheese Icing (optional)
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
4 C. powdered sugar
1/4 C. chopped walnuts (for topping, optional)

Instructions: 1. For cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Stir together the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

3. In a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugars. Beat in the eggs into the butter and sugar mixture and then add the citrus peels and juices. Stir in the carrots.

4. Beat the flour and carrot mixtures together. Turn the batter into a greased and floured tube pan. For extra sweet crust (a good idea of you decide not to opt for frosting), try mixing the flour for the pan with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.

5. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 90 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Transfer to a rack to cool. Cool completely before frosting.

6. To make the cream cheese icing: Beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until incorporated. Beat the icing until smooth.

7. Top the cake with walnuts, if desired.