Holiday Recipes--Blue Ribbon Carrot Cake

Blue Ribbon Carrot Cake

2 Cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. Baking Soda
2 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Vanilla extract
3 eggs
¾ cup vegetable oil
2 cups Sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 8oz. can crushed pineapple, drained
1 lb. carrots grated
1 cup shredded coconut

Buttermilk Glaze, see below
Cream Cheese Frosting, see below

Buttermilk Glaze:
1 Cup sugar
1 stick butter
½ tsp. Baking soda
1 tbs. Light Corn syrup
½ Cup buttermilk
1 tsp. Vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 ½ sticks softened butter
3 Cups powdered sugar
12 ozs. Cream cheese, softened
1 ½ tsp. Vanilla extract

Line 3 (9 inch) round cake pans, 2 (9 inch round cake pans), or 1 (13 X 9
inch) pan with wax paper; lightly grease and flour wax paper. Set pans aside.
Stir together first four ingredients. Set aside.
Beat eggs and next four ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer
until smooth. Add flour mixture, beating at low speed until blended.
Fold in pineapple, carrots, coconut, and nuts.
Pour batter into prepared pans.
Bake at 350 degrees as follows:
For 3 (9 inch) round cake pans for 25 to 30 minutes.
For 2 (9 inch) cake pans for 55 minutes.
For 1 (13 X 9 inch) pan for 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center
comes out clean.
While cake is baking, prepare Buttermilk Glaze. Remove cake from oven
and slowly pour glaze over hot cake. Cool cake in pan until glaze is totally
absorbed, about one hour. Turn out of pan, if desired. Cool completely.
Prepare cream cheese frosting. Frost cake. Refrigerate until frosting is set.
Buttermilk Glaze:

In a small saucepan, combine sugar, baking soda, buttermilk, buttermilk, and
butter and corn syrup. Bring to a boil. Cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Cream butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add vanilla, and powdered
sugar. Mix until smooth.

I have been making this carrot cake for 10 years and it is second to none. A friend gave me the recipe all those years ago. I use 1 lb of carrots for each cake. I make 1 a day for 6 days and place each one in the freezer. I get so many requests from friends to make this for birthdays and special occasions. To freeze, I just let the cakes cool in the pan for about an hour. Then I place the three layers on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer for about an hour. Then remove the cakes from the freezer, wrap each individual layer in plastic wrap, wrap those three layers in two layers of foil and then place the wrapped cake in a jumbo zip loc bag. Date the cake and place back in the freezer. These will keep for at least 3 months.
When it is time to frost the cake. Take it out of the freezer, unwrap and allow to thaw for about an hour. Peel your parchment paper from the back of the cake. then frost. It will taste like you just baked the cake!