Birthday Carrot Cake Recipe
Perhaps some of you thought I was off tending puppies yesterday or maybe even early birthday celebrating. Don’t I wish.
What I was really doing was nearly pulling my hair out over the inexplicable continued crap Internet connection I have. Ever since it went out about 10 days ago, it’s been on and off — and yesterday was completely off. Right now it’s touch and go (can’t access many pages), but I’m keeping positive.
And aside from causing me stress regarding work, it’s *completely* thrown off my blogging schedule. Argh.
Guess you’ll have to wait another year for today’s originally planned post. Or I’ll just save it for NaBloPoMo . . . with which I sincerely hope Telecom Italia cooperates.
So here is What’s Cooking Wednesday: the Birthday Edition — a day late for Wednesday, but just in time for my birthday! Woohoo!
For anyone who’s curious, I’m 31 today. So send any e-cards in large font please. Hah!
Now, back to the originally scheduled post:
For my birthday, I always have this chocolate cake. It’s my absolute favorite cake in the whole world — especially when my mom makes it.
But I’ve been feeling a little daring lately, in the mood for something different. And that, for me, means carrot cake.
I love carrot cake, haven’t had it in at least four years, and besides, isn’t it just a great autumn cake, spicy and orange and brown and cream cheese icing and yum?
I have never made a carrot cake before, and I’m not entirely sure why not. Probably because my mom isn’t particularly fond of it, so she never passed on a recipe, and goodness knows I stick to the recipes of experts around these parts.
So I turned to these Internets and went for the first recipe that came up. I know. Really selective right? Well you see, I had been going over what I thought would go into a carrot cake in my head, and this recipe fit that, especially with the adjustments listed in the comments. So I made my own tweaks, and below is what I came up with.
This cake is delicious. It’s a subtle carrot cake, and by that I mean it’s not at all like some store- or restaurant-produced cakes that make me feel like I’m eating a scented candle. I like my spices subtle, so if you like them stronger, you might want to adjust. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that if you think you don’t like carrot cake, you should give this one a go.
Also, the original recipe had pecans. Some people in the comment section switched to walnuts, but I didn’t add any nuts at all; I’m not a fan of nuts in my cakes in general. But this would’ve been *fabulous* with raisins so I’ll make an effort to find them before I make this again.
My Birthday Carrot Cake
4 eggs
1 c white sugar
1 c brown sugar
1 ¼ c vegetable oil
3 tsp vanilla 2 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp nutmeg
3 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp salt
3 c grated carrots
1. Preheat oven to 350° F (175° C). Grease and flour 9 x 13 inch pan (or, as I did a 6 muffin/cupcake pan and a small loaf pan).
2. Blend together eggs, sugars, oil, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt and add to mixing bowl a little at a time. At this point, the mixture will be really thick, almost pasty. Now you’re ready to stir in the carrots.
4. Pour into pan(s), and put in the oven. The original recipe says 40-50 minutes for a full-sized cake. My muffins took about 20 minutes, and the loaf pan about 40. Just make sure to always test with a toothpick in the center—if it comes out with no batter, you’re good.
For amateur bakers, the other trick is the “spring back to the touch test,” which says, not surprisingly, that the cake should spring back to your touch. I find this one a big dangerous though as you can sink the top of your cakes and muffins/cupcakes pretty easily, so I always use a toothpick.
5. Remove from oven and let cool before icing.
Cream Cheese Icing
The measurements in the original recipe looked really off to me so I used a tried and true cream cheese icing recipe that I’ve made before. You might want to play with this too according to your tastes and how much icing you like (I don’t use much). In fact, on the cake, I just sprinkled some confectioner’s sugar on top. Look it’s snowing in October in southern Italy!
8 oz softened cream cheese
4 tbl butter
1 ½ c powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla
Beat everything together until smooth and to your desired consistency.
Grating the carrots makes this one a little labor intensive, but it’s worth it, especially if you’re making it for someone special — like for yourself. Come on, show yourself a little love this Love Thursday!
Happy Love Thursday and buon appetito!
Edited to add a request:
If you leave birthday wishes for me,
please leave the date of your birthday too (no year required!)
so I can return the wish.
96 Beans of Wisdom to “Birthday Carrot Cake Recipe”
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Recipes
Tanti Auguri Michelle! I LOVE carrot cake and may very well try this recipe out.
Sorry you’re having so many problems with your connection. Hopefully, everything will be resolved soon. Do we really have to wait a whole year for what was to be posted today? Yikes, that’s so far away! lol
Come on Stella, have those puppies already!
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Happy Birthday ..my friend!
May this year be filled with many surprises!
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Giulia, thanks! I really don’t know what’s going on with Telecom and our phone *and* ADSL lines; they must be working on them for some reason…I just wish they’d finish soon and we could get back to normal.
I definitely won’t wait a whole year to post what was supposed to be up today–you’ll understand why when I post it
And Stella is certainly taking her good old time….
Sharon, thanks, and I hope one of those surprises is a reliable Internet connection
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Happy Birthday and Tanti Auguri! Take some time off to enjoy your day.
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOGNATRICE!!
Oh, and I love, love, love carrot cake! Please, may I have a piece?
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I was the first, back on my birthday, hee.
I haven’t had carrot cake in forever…I almost can’t remember the taste.
Why is it we have banana, pumpkin and zucchini bread, and carrot cake?
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Gil, thanks, will do!
Sabine, thanks, and you can have all you want
Sara, you’re right about being first, and you make an excellent point about the bread vs cake. I’ve never really seen much of a difference anyway, so I like to call it all bread so it feels healthier
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Happy Birthday Bella!
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Happy Birthday! Have a great day! 31 is nothing…wait till you turn 32 like me! haha!
The cake looks good. I have been craving a cake with cream cheese frosting. Something along the lines of my mom’s chocolate cake with coffee cream cheese icing.
I should move my butt and make it. Or at least take advantage of the fact cream cheese is easy to find in Italy!
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Well….HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!! Hope you had extra carrot cake to celebrate!!! Sometime the internet and compters in general are sooooo frustrating. Actaully , I made the switch to cable connection and haven’t had any problems!!!! Hope you get puppies for your birthday
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What a delicious cake and a beautiful picture. Is that with your new camera? Happy birthday sognatrice, and many more. Have a fab day. (mine has just been 15 september)so I can relax for another year.
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Happy birthday Michelle! May you enjoy your day…regardless of internet connections!
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I think it may be called “cake” because of the tasty icing addition
*shurgs* but who knows.
I hope you have a WONDERFUL birthday and ad some extra icing for me (since we dont’ have an oven here – I can only imagine)
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Tanti Auguri Michelle!!
Your cake looks amazing. It’s one of my favorite cakes. So yummy and moist. My mom has a great recipe…I must make sure to get it before I move.
(my birthday is August 26th)
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Yummy cake, happy day. All the best.
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Vee, thanks!
Autumn, thanks for the wishes! I suppose I’ll know the feeling of 32 soon enough…time *does* go faster the older you get! I love cream cheese frosting too, and I have some leftover, so perhaps I should make a chocolate cake now too. Mmmm….
Robin, thanks, and I think I’ve had enough carrot cake to satisfy cravings for quite a while
I *wish* I had another choice for Internet connection–as it is, this is the best option, which is so sad!
AV, yes, photos are from the new camera
Thanks for the wishes, and happy belated birthday to you–I’ll get you next year 
Maria, thanks–the connection is giving me a great lesson in patience, right? That’s something
Erin, no oven? That’s sad because that means no lasagna either! I’ll have some of that for you too the next time I make it
And thanks for the bday wishes!
NYC, I tried so hard to get all those recipes before I left and I still call my mom all the time to doublecheck things
Thanks for the wishes, and happy very belated to you 
Ally, thanks; yummy and happy indeed!
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Happy Birthday Michelle! I hope you are having a good day. I hope the weather down there is better than it is up here today.
(My birthday is November 24th)
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31! Good lord, you’re still a baby. I have clothes that old. Happy Birthday.
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YAY! Happy Birthday! That cake looks AMAZING. Beautiful magazine-like shot. Enjoy!
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I love all of your recipes, but I’m delurking to tell you that carrot cake is my favorite.
Have a FANTASTIC birthday…
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A very happy birthday to you! Glad you enjoyed your cake, and the new camera is taking lovely pics.
My birthday is a week from today, the 25th. I’ll be 34. Eek! 34? How did that happen?
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Happy Birthday Michelle! Your cake pictures look absolutely delicious! Your carrot cake is making me hungry!
Have a good one!
Oh! My birthday is March 8.
Fran
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Happy Birthday!!!!!!
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Happy Birthday!!! FINALLY….a yummy way to get my kids to eat their carrots!!
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happy birthday to you
you live in zoo…..;)
sorry…it’s the little kid in me….
have a great day…the carrot cake looks yummy, but i’m a choco cake kinda gal…:)
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Happy Birthday!
The cake looks delicious too. That’s one I haven’t tried here yet. I’ve always wondered how the Italians would react to it. I’ve already surprised them with banana bread and zucchini bread. My BD is coming up on the 26th and so far I’m planning on a Devil’s Food Cake, but that’s subject to change without notice.
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Happy birthday! The carrot cake looks fantastic!
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Wishing you a very happy birthday! I hope you had a wonderful day. May all your birthday wishes come true!
BUON COMPLEANNO!
Cyn
ps. I was going to set up an Amazon store and want to give you credit (remember we talked about it a long time ago). BUT I can’t figure out how to do it (give you credit). Help!
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Boun Compleanno! The cake looks wonderful, too bad I’m no baker … I’ll see if I can get my sister to make me one. Have a great birthday and I hope your internet woes get corrected … Keep those beautiful pics of bella Calabria coming … love them.
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Happy birthday Michelle!
31, ah your still just a pup.
( I only made carrot cake once, for Bob’s birthday, all I can recall of recipe is that it had crushed pineapple in it. For a baked good of my making it turned out okay, a.k.a. people actually ate it.)
I hope you have a fantastic day filled with all that you love best.
It is wonderful that you have so many tried and true family recipes. My grandmother wont give out some of hers, like for her crab cakes, I swear when we ask her, she fakes senility/deafness, what? huh? And no matter how loudly, clearly and often you repeat it, goes on talking about something else. And then if we all gang up together and really press her, she just says oh you can’t get those kind of crabs anymore, and tells us nothing. Bad grandma! ( she is a good Grandmother, but oh such a character).
oh, so wishing you a day of, good food, a good man (P), a good internet connection, lots of puppies (well not lots and lots), and plenty of characters.
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Hey lady!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
I’m having a party for you over at my page.
Wish I was there to have chocolate AND carrot cake with you!
And puppies!
Hope it’s a wonderful day!
Scarlett & Viaggiatore
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Happy Birthday! 31 is a lovely age, I’m turning 40 (13 Jan) now THAT feels quite old I tell ya!
Hope you get some lovely puppies for your birthday
That carrot cake looks seriously yummy, I’m going to have to try that recipe soon.
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Ciao Michelle,
Ti auguro un buon compleanno!!
My cousin living in Perugia loves carrot cake as well but buys the Betty Crocker Carrot Cake mix from here to bring back. I’m thinking your homemade one is better though!
I hope you have a great day! Enjoy every moment!
(My b-day is August 4th)
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All of my VERY BEST thoughts and wishes to you every day, but today most of all for your birthday, Michelle!!
I truly hope you are doing something wonderfully decadent for yourself today. Or should I put that in the past tense, since it’s 7:30am here in Seattle right now and 4:30pm in Italy? Here’s to a fabulous year ahead! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!
Christina
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Happy, happy birthday to you!!! That carrot cake looks amazing and now I know what I’m going to do with some of my carrots in my garden : ) I hope you have a fabulous day and have many wonderful surprises.
My birthday was exactly a week ago. I love birthdays : )
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HAPPY B’DAY!!!
And guess what,I baked the chocolate cake you always have for your b’day!!:)
I stole your recipe..and was pleasantly surprised to see that it was your b’day.Yay!!
I have a picture on my blog..it doesn’t look as goos as yours…but what the heck it’s my first time.
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Happy Birthday! Glad you enjoyed your carrot cake.
I made one with a similar recipe last weekend, and it was delicious. Almost as good as my mother’s famous chocolate cake, which she makes for every birthday. I would be hard pressed to have to choose.
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Happy Birthday Sognatrice! I enjoyed 31, in fact, I’m enjoying all my 30′s so far…I’ll be 33 (yikes) in March (the 10th to be exact)…wow, it sure sneaks up on you.
OH, and the cake? You’ve convinced me to try it. I’m one of those who doesn’t like carrot cake, but since you said to try it…and the raisins sound like a great idea (I also don’t like nuts in my cakes)…I’m having a “Halloween” party on the 27th, and I think I’ll make this cake. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
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Oh, 31 is an excellent age. I think. I can’t actually remember.
Happy Birthday!
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Happy Birthday!!!
I’m only 11 years older 5 months older then you!
That Carrot Cake looks delicious!
Have a wonderful day!
Lucy from Pickering and Toronto
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Augurissimi di buon compleanno, Michelle!
I loved being 31 – actually I never got over the feeling, though it’s receding ever-increasingly in the retrovisore…
Ti auguro un bellissimo giorno.
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Happy Birthday! I remember 31…it was an interesting year, to be sure
That chocolate cake recipe sounds delish!
6/22
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happy birthday!
have you ever considered becoming a food photographer, you’re fantastic! and shooting food is no easy task, they get paid well
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De-lurking to say Happy Birthday! 31 is a distant memory for me (I’m 39).
Love your blog even though this is my first time commenting here. Someday, I WILL visit Italy…..
My birthday is August 18th. Right in the middle of the unbearable heat here in Atlanta, Georgia.
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Happy happy birthday to you!!!! Hope you’re having a fantastic day.
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Happy Birthday to YOU! And to my little Princess Maya too who is four years old today! Great day for some great young ladies, isn’t it though.
And, if you ever want a really easy recipe for a cake that tastes very similar to carrot cake but with half the work involved, drop me an e-mail and I’ll send it to you! It’s called “Swedish Nut Cake” – excellent, easy – only cake recipe I have completely memorized too!
Again – Happy Birthday and have a great and wonderous day!
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Happy Birthday, my dear!
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Oh, I feel terrible that I am comment number 48! Well, that leaves me some room for improvement next year.
Tanti auguri bella!!! You have 31 wonderful years to celebrate…and may you have many more. I will raise a glass of wine in your honor tonight.
(mine is June 20.)
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY Michelle!!
I hope you had a special day.
Moist carront cake without nuts sounds heavenly to me.
Patiently waiting for your puppies to arrive!!
Ciao,
Linda
(mine is June 18th)
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Happy birthday! I’m so glad you were born. I’m glad you’re glad, too.
Chocolate cake, carrot cake — as long as there’s cake, it’s a birthday.
As you may recall (since you kindly did drop by to wish me a happy one), I made a lopsided birthday cake for myself last year. My boyfriend named it “Loppy.” He then proceeded to make jokes about how it was our duty as predators to cull the herd, that some cakes are born more slow-rolling for a reason. (These jokes were in very bad taste when you consider that he has a putatively crippled girlfriend, but they still send me into streams of giggles, so what does that say about me?)
“Oh, Loppy,” he says with a dreamy look on his face whenever birthday cake is mentioned. “You were a good cake. Where’m I ever gonna find another one like Loppy?”
His 40th is on Sunday. I may have to make his cake lopsided on purpose.
Your cake, of course, looks perfect. Show-off.
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