The Best Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Fifth anniversary. April ninth. Sunday this year, which means I marked it in church and then came home and cooked. I have found over five years that Sunday anniversaries carry a particular quality — the service holds some of the grief formally so I don't have to hold all of it alone, and the congregation knows, some of them, and doesn't say anything that requires response. The presence of a community that understands is its own kind of comfort.

Destiny came Saturday and stayed through Sunday. We went to the cemetery Sunday afternoon, which we do every year, and stood at Marcus's grave in the early April light for as long as we needed to. I brought the yellow tulips he always gave me for our anniversary — we were married in April, long before this became the month his grave needed flowers — and I put them in the holder at the base of the stone and stepped back and let the yellow do its work against the gray.

Five years. That is enough time to say: I have done it. I have gone through the worst of it, or at least the acute worst, and I am still standing in the middle of my life, which has continued to produce things worth living for. The baby coming in August. Two married children. A table that feeds sixty or more people every Tuesday. A cast iron that has seasoned many things. A cedar box with good things in it. A stack cake recipe recovered from a Piggly Wiggly receipt. What Marcus made possible by being who he was and loving who he loved is still unfolding. That is not small. I am choosing, today, to say: that is enough. That is more than enough.

When I got home from the cemetery Sunday, I needed to do something with my hands that would produce something beautiful — not in spite of the day, but because of it. Five years felt like it deserved a real cake, a layered thing that takes time and care, something Marcus would have cut himself a generous slice of and called perfect. Carrot cake has always been a spring cake to me, and this April more than any other felt like it asked for sweetness alongside the grief. I made the frosting thick and did not apologize for it.

Prep Time: 30 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 1 hr 5 min (plus cooling) | Servings: 12

Ingredients

For the cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups finely grated fresh carrots (about 5 medium carrots)
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
For the cream cheese frosting:
16 oz (2 blocks) full-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Instructions

Prepare your pans. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper circles. Set aside.
Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt until evenly combined. Set aside.
Beat the eggs and sugars. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together with a hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes, until lightened in color and slightly thickened.
Add the wet ingredients. With the mixer on low, add the oil, sour cream, and vanilla to the egg mixture and mix until combined.
Fold in the dry ingredients and carrots. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir by hand with a spatula until just combined — do not overmix. Fold in the grated carrots and nuts, if using.
Bake. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans. Bake for 32–36 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the edges begin to pull away from the sides. Do not overbake.
Cool completely. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely before frosting. Do not rush this step — a warm cake will melt the frosting.
Make the frosting. Beat the softened cream cheese and butter together on medium-high speed until very smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce to low speed and add the sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Add the vanilla and salt, then increase speed to medium and beat for 1 minute more until light and creamy.
Frost the cake. Place one cake layer on a serving plate and spread a generous layer of frosting across the top. Place the second layer on top and frost the top and sides. For a rustic finish, use an offset spatula to create soft swirls. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before slicing to help the frosting set.
Serve. Bring to room temperature for 20 minutes before serving. Garnish with additional chopped pecans or a few pecan halves on top if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

The Best Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting — Baking Through the Fifth Year