In honor of our 16th anniversary, I'm going to make my husband's favorite dessert - Grandma's Carrot Cake. If you haven't tried this since my original post, you're missing out! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Repost~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I'm not sure what it is about carrot cake that brings out the competitive nature in people, but it seems as though people are always claiming that "so and so" makes/has "the best" carrot cake in town. Generally, I don't argue with people because most of the time the person making this statement hasn't had my Grandma Bessie's Carrot Cake. With all due respect to those bragging, the deliciousness of Bessie's recipe is without peer. (Recall how competitive I am with guacamole? I'm worse with carrot cake!)

So rather than keep this deliciousness to myself, I'm sharing the recipe here. Here's what you need (in the order that you'll use in the recipe):

4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/2 cups oil (NOT OLIVE OIL)
2 cups flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt
3 cups peeled and grated carrots (This is usually 6-8 carrots)

For the frosting you will also need (at room temperature):

1 stick margarine
1 8oz block of cream cheese
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
chopped pecans (optional)

First, mix the eggs.Add sugar and continue to mix.

Slowly add oil so that it incorporates into the eggs.

Meanwhile, sift together the dry ingredients (Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Cinnamon, Salt). If you have short people around the kitchen, this is a perfect job for them. Keep the broom handy!

Add flour mixture to the batter. Mix until incorporated.

Fold in the carrots. Do NOT overmix. If you stir too much, the carrots will sink to the bottom of the batter and, technically, that's called "no good."

Before pouring the batter, grease and "line" a pan ("lining" a pan means greasing and dusting with a thin layer of flour.)

Be warned - this cake is so moist that you should NOT attempt to bake it in anything other than a 9x13 pan. No round pans, no cupcakes. If you use those pans, the cake will droop. I didn't promise that Grandma Bessie made the prettiest carrot cake, just the most delicious!

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. The cake will look pretty dull, but it gets better!

Allow the cake to cool completely before icing. To make the icing, cream together margarine, cream cheese, and powdered sugar.

When smooth, add 2 teaspoons of vanilla. This is a good time to mention a pantry tip. If you (or anyone you know well enough for a favor) travel to Mexico, bring back a bottle of Mexican vanilla. I think the taste is superior to anything you can find in the U.S. Plus, it's MUCH more affordable.

I like to put dollops of frosting around the edges of the cake to make spreading easier.If you forget about the "cooling completely" you're frosting will not spread properly. The result will look something like this:

So sad! Do not fear - both the cake's appearance and taste improves with chopped pecans on top. Nom! Nom! Nom! So tasty!!! Here's one more look. This cake is ready for its close up.Happy baking everyone!!!