Divine Carrot Cake

Time: 3 hours

Love is divine… so is this cake…. the perfect combination of comforting flavours.

Music Selection: Seal – Love’s Divine

Ingredients:

3 cups flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

2 ½ cups brown sugar

1 ½ cups vegetable/canola oil

6 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp grand marnier liqueur

4 cups grated carrot

1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained well

1 cup chopped pecans

Icing:

1 pound cream cheese at room temperature

8 oz butter at room temperature

2 cups confectioners sugar

2 Tbsp grand marnier liqueur

Orange zest from one orange

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray three 9 inch round pans with oil and line bottoms with cut parchment paper to fit bottoms.

In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and ginger. Set aside.

In separate bowl, beat sugar and oil, add vanilla and grand marnier.

Mix the wet ingredients with flour and add the carrots, nuts and pineapple – mix well until combined.

Distribute evenly into the 3 pans. Tapping the pans so there are not bubbles. Place in oven for 40 – 50 minutes. Remove and let cool completely.

To make the icing, in a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter and confectioners sugar. Add the grand marnier and ½ the orange zest. Beat until light and fluffy.

When completely cool, place the bottom cake layer on your serving platter. Use a spatula to spread ½ cup of icing on the layer evenly. Place the second cake layer on top and also spread ½ cup of icing evenly. Add the third layer of cake and ice the entire cake with remaining icing. You can reserve some and use a cake decorating tip to make pretty designs.