Breakfast Carrot Cake

Are you eating leftover carrot cake from Easter for breakfast today?

If not, you know what they say: The best day to make a carrot cake was two days ago. The second best day is today. (And yes, I know that this is not really a breakfast recipe. But the rules about such things disappeared weeks ago.)

Above, carrot cake in its most simple form. Why? Because I have children. You can bake a more exciting carrot cake using the variations below.

Ingredients:

Cake

4 eggs
1 1/2 c. oil
2 c. sugar
2 c. flour, sifted (Spoon it in your measuring cup and level it off–this takes 30 more seconds and always produces better results)
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3 c. shredded carrots

Frosting*

1 lb confectioner sugar, sifted
1 stick butter, softened
1 bar cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

Cake:

Grease round cake pan of size of your choice or 9×13 pan. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, beat eggs; add oil and beat further.
In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients.
Combine wet and dry ingredients. Add carrots, being careful not to overstir.
Spread into pan and cook 30-50 minutes, depending on the size of the pan.
Allow to cool briefly in the pan, then turn out to cool further before frosting.

Frosting:

Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add vanilla and beat further.
Add sifted powdered sugar and beat thoroughly.

*This recipe makes enough frosting to frost the top and sides of a single layer cake or the top and interior of a double layer cake. To frost only the top of a single layer cake, reduce ingredients by half; to frost top, interior, and sides of a double layer cake, add half a stick of butter, half a bar of cream cheese, half a pound of powdered sugar, and half a tsp. vanilla.

Variations:

To add raisins, soak 3/4 c raisins (golden ones or a mix of regular and golden) in hot water or orange or pineapple juice until they re-hydrate; then add to cake batter with carrots. Failure to re-hydrate raisins means they will suck moisture from the cake, leading to dreadful consequences.
Add 3/4 chopped pecans or walnuts to the batter or top with toasted nuts.
Add 3/4 c. crushed pineapple, reducing sugar by 1/4 c.
Add up to 2 tsp total of ground cloves, ginger, and/or nutmeg.
Top with shredded coconut, if you hate the people you are serving it to.