Best Carrot Cake Recipe

Best Carrot Cake Recipe*
¾ cup ground walnuts, toasted**
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
¾ cup grapeseed or canola oil
1 ¼ cup white sugar
½ cup brown sugar
zest of one orange (optional)
4 large eggs
3 cups shredded carrots
8 ounces crushed pineapple or applesauce***

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans as set aside.

Grind about 1 cup of toasted walnuts in a small food processor or spice/coffee grinder.  Small chunks of walnut is okay, but be sure not to grind too far or it will start to become more of a paste.  Measure out 3/4 cup and set aside.

Sift together the dry ingredients and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together both sugars, eggs, and orange zest (if using).  Stream in the oil and mix until combined.  Working in two batches, gently stir in the dry ingredients.  Stir in the ground walnuts.

Lastly, fold in the shredded carrots and pineapple until combined.

Evenly divide the batter between the prepared pans.  Bake for 28 to 32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes come out clean.  Cool on a wire rack for about 20 minutes before removing the cakes from their pans.

 In my humble opinion =)
** The ground walnuts may be replaced with equal amounts almond flour or 1/3 cup all-purpose flour.  A great tip for cleaning out your spice/coffee grinder in between uses it to grind up a small bit (like a tablespoon) of uncooked white rice (I read this is Luisa Weiss' Classic German Baking)
*** I have not tested this, but I bet you could replace the pineapple with a cup of mashed bananas as well (sort of like in this recipe)

Cream Cheese Frosting
12 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 to 5 cups confectioners sugar
2 to 4 tablespoons whole milk
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
seeds from ½ vanilla bean or zest of one lemon (optional)

Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth.  With the mixer on low, mix in the remaining ingredients until just combined.  Once incorporated, turn up the mixer to medium-high and beat until fluffy.  Adjust the sugar and milk until your desired consistency in achieved.