County Fair, County Fair, A Down Home Feelin' in the Air!

Yep, it's time for Blue Ribbon Carrot Cake!

So, it got up to 64 degrees today in Nebraska and people were out in their shorts and tank tops, therefore I felt I needed to whip up some blue ribbon carrot cake to get into the warm weather spirit.  And what says warm weather better than a county fair. Yee haw.

Well, it's no joke that I won the blue ribbon at the Boone County Fair two years ago with this delicious Carrot Cake recipe.  And I won myself the grand prize of twenty five dollars.  That's right twenty five dollars.  I couldn't believe the prize money for carrot cake, most people win five bucks or a free haircut.  My prize was high class and because of that I made a seriously delectable cake. (the key ingredient ain't the carrots, honey, it's the cream cheese frosting, whoopie!)  Ummm, let's get to it then so you can whip yourself up one before the weather turns cold again.

To begin, you will need about 3 cups of  shredded carrots.  I recommend using a food processor to do this, but if yours is broken like mine, start working those wrist muscles and grate it out.

You've prepared your carrots, then you set them aside for later.  Now, you must beat together the sugar, oil and eggs.  That doesn't look to appetizing here, but it gets better...

Add the dry ingredients, including flour, soda, salt and cinnamon (love it!).

Mix it all together

Try to take a classy picture with your camera...which actually turns out kind of weird.  

Beat in the shredded carrots that you worked so hard to grate.

Place it in a greased pan.

And bake it right up to send to the county fair. Yee haw!

Delectable indeed.  The cream cheese frosting gets the judges every time!

And there you have it, a blue ribbon winner. Try it out and you'll love it.  And you'll be eating healthy with all those carrots in there, well...sort of.

Check out the recipe below.  This is an old Betty Crocker Classic.

Cake

1 1/2	cups granulated sugar
1	cup vegetable oil
3	eggs
2	cups all-purpose flour
2	teaspoons ground cinnamon
1	teaspoon baking soda
1	teaspoon vanilla
1/2	teaspoon salt
3	cups shredded carrots (5 medium)
1	cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

Cream Cheese Frosting

1	package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4	cup butter or margarine, softened
2	to 3 teaspoons milk
1	teaspoon vanilla
4	cups powdered sugar

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1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom and sides of one 13x9-inch pan or two 8-inch or 9-inch round pans with shortening; lightly flour. In large bowl, beat granulated sugar, oil and eggs with electric mixer on low speed about 30 seconds or until blended. Add flour, cinnamon, baking soda, 1 teaspoon vanilla and the salt; beat on low speed 1 minute. Stir in carrots and nuts. Pour into pan(s).
2. Bake 13x9-inch pan 40 to 45 minutes, round pans 30 to 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool rectangle in pan on cooling rack. Cool rounds 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
3. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, milk and vanilla with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, on low speed until smooth and spreadable. Frost 13x9-inch cake or fill and frost round layers with frosting. Store in refrigerator.

1 1/2

cups granulated sugar

1

cup vegetable oil

3

eggs

2

cups all-purpose flour

2

teaspoons ground cinnamon

1

teaspoon baking soda

1

teaspoon vanilla

1/2

teaspoon salt

3

cups shredded carrots (5 medium)

1

cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional)

1

package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/4

cup butter or margarine, softened

2

to 3 teaspoons milk

1

teaspoon vanilla

4

cups powdered sugar

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About Concordance™