Cake is for Mothers

Carrot cake is a lovely cake to bake, and certainly for your mother. I do love to bake this one because it's so goddamn labor intensive that expletives fly from start to finish; a cozy environment, indeed. All the cuts, bruises, scrapes, and orange-dyed skin really say 'I love you' especially much.

YOU WILL NEED:
The pokey mesh side of the cheese shredder
A really strong arm
Cross your fingers you have a mixer!
3 9" round cake pans/dishes/bakeware
2lbs. (3 cups)  of carrots finely grated
1/4 cup of chopped walnuts
2 cups of sugar
1 and 1/2 cups of plain applesauce
4 eggs
2 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of baking soda
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon of salt
3 cups of powdered sugar
1 and 1/2 cups (12 oz) of cream cheese
1/4 cup of margarine
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1-2 tablespoons of lemon or orange juice **optional**

No, I am not a grand master photographer. So shoot me.

Step ix: Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Step 1 

Grate your 2lbs of carrots and chop your 1/4 of walnuts (unless they came chopped). Set aside. Then take a damn break! You just shredded your tail off! **Helpful hint: grate the carrot as if turning a crank, small cranks fling less carrot and are more energy efficient.**          

 3 cups of character building coming right up!

Step 2: Mix your flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon and set aside.

Step 3: Cream your butter (applesauce) and sugar. Add eggs

Step 4: Add your flour mixture and blend well.

Step 5 

Add finely ground carrots and chopped walnuts.

Step 6: Take a minute to liberally grease and flour your 3 cake dishes
Step 7: Spread batter between the dishes evenly by ladling the batter one scoop per dish.

Step 8 

Place the 3 dishes in the oven at 300 degrees for 50-60 minutes. (I personally did 55.)

Meanwhile. . . Step 9: Clean your mixing dish out and make your icing while the cakes bake.

Step 10 

Combine powdered sugar, margarine, cream cheese, and vanilla. I personally add lemon because there is so much sugar that one may become overwhelmed, the citrus flavor inoculates one's senses from that overwhelming sugar flavor and gives it a tang. You could also use orange juice if lemon is not available. Don't add too much because you want to maintain a nice consistency for your icing. Mix and place in a container and refrigerate.

Step 11 

Take out 3 plates, one being the cake plate itself, and the other two covered with wax paper.

Whatever you do, don't forget the wax paper for 2 of the cakes because the cake is so moist it may be ripped during transfer to the cake setting.

Step 12 

Remove those beauties from the oven! Let cool for an hour. Then flip each cake over onto either wax paper or the cake plate. Place each cake in an enclosed cupboard overnight (mine got 10hrs, the recipe calls for 24hrs.)

Step 13

Liberally add icing to the first layer of cake, add the second cake. Liberally coat the second cake with your cream cheese icing, then add the third cake. Then slap on as much icing as the cake will hold.

The natives were quite pleased.

Step 14 

Remember the debts paid and (potentially) now owed you.

Ta-da!