Carrot Cake

This is the most wonderful carrot cake I have ever eaten!
Thank You to my sister-in-law Angela and the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt
4 large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 lb carrots, peeled and grated*

Do not use bagged, pre-shredded carrots--they are too thick. Use either the large holes on a box grater or the shredding disk of a food processor.

Directions:
1. Put the oven rack in the middle position. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan with vegetable oil spray, then line the bottom with parchment paper. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.

2. Whisk the eggs and sugars together in a large bowl until frothy and the sugar is mostly dissolved, about 1 minute. While whisking, slowly add the oil until the mixture is thoroughly combined and emulsified, about 1 minute. Whisk in the flour mixture until no streaks of flour remain. Stir in the carrots.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking.

4. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack, about 2 hours. Run a paring knife around the perimeter of the pan, invert the cake onto the rack, peel off the parchment, then invert the cake again onto a serving platter.

VARIATIONS
Nuts and raisins: Stir 1 1/2 cups pecans or walnuts, toasted and chopped, and 1 cup raisins into the batter with the carrots in step 2.

Ginger-orange carrot cake: reduce the amount of cinnamon to 1/2 tsp and add 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger to the flour mixture in step 1. Add 1 Tbsp grated orange zest to the egg and sugar mixture in step 2. Stir 1/2 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger into the batter with the carrots in step 2.

For two 8-inch cake layers: Reduce the baking time to 25-30 minutes. Do not use the cream cheese frosting--substitute a butter based frosting--as the cream cheese frosting isn't stiff enough for a layer cake.

For a bunt cake: Increase the baking time to about 55 minutes.

For 24 cupcakes: Reduce the baking time to 30 minutes.

Make ahead: After the cake has cooled, it can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and kept at room temperature for up to 3 days.

I will post the cream cheese frosting recipe separately.

Number Of Servings:10-12