Quest for the Ultimate Carrot Cake

About ten years ago, Brent and I were invited to a little shindig in celebration of our friend Mike's sister Angela. She had moved to England, but was returning home to Halifax for a summer visit. So we packed up a few drinks, and headed down to Mike's Mom's place for a little welcome-home BBQ. We had a great time, and towards the end of the evening, out came this beautiful, moist, delicious carrot cake. In fact, it was the most wonderful dessert I had ever tasted. I then did the only logical thing one would do in that situation, I asked for the recipe. I couldn't imagine living the rest of my life without ever again tasting that little slice of heaven. So imagine my surprise when I was very politely denied my request, on the premise that it was a "family recipe".

So, for the last 10 years, I have been on the ultimate quest, the quest for carrot cake supremacy. My tasting partner in this delicious experiment has been one Paul MacDougald, whose constant birthday cake of choice is the one and only carrot cake. The following recipe is for the best carrot cake I have had in the last 10 years. If you have a recipe for carrot cake that tastes better than this, you must be Mike's grandmother.

Best-ever non-Mike's grandmother's Carrot Cake

Cake

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Dash ground cloves

1/2 tsp. salt

4 eggs

1-1/4 cups oil

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups of shredded carrots

1 can (19 fl oz/540 mL) crushed pineapple, well drained

optional - 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Icing

1 pkg. (250 g) cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 1/4 cups icing sugar

1/2 tsp. lemon zest

3/4 tsp. lemon juice

Directions

HEAT oven to 350°F.

CAKE:
SIFT together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt in medium bowl; set aside. Beat eggs and oil in large bowl with whisk until well blended. Gradually add granulated sugar, mixing until blended. Add flour mixture, carrots, pineapple and nuts; mix well. Pour into greased and floured 3-L fluted tube pan or 10-inch tube pan.
BAKE 1 hour or until toothpick inserted near centre comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 min. Loosen cake from sides of pan with knife. Invert cake onto wire rack; gently remove pan. Cool cake completely.
ICING:
BEAT cream cheese and butter in large bowl with mixer until well blended. Gradually add icing sugar, zest and juice, beating until well blended after each addition. Spread onto cake.

Optional - I also like to bake this batter as cupcakes, ice individually, and store some in the freezer for company. They freeze great, and taste delicious. Reduce baking time to around 25 minutes, but begin checking with a toothpick after 20 minutes.