Garden Patch Carrot Cake

Submitted by HeatherFeather

"I made this cake for a going away party for some neighbors and good friends. It is a very unusual cake as it contains not only carrots, but also zucchini, and even baby food beets. Everyone, even the children really enjoyed this cake and they never knew the cake contained such peculiar ingredients. I found the original version of this recipe in a Taste of Home magazine and this is my adaptation (I added the baby foods in particular). You may simply ice the cake with the cream cheese frosting and serve, or if you know how to use decorating tips, decorate this like a vegetable garden using tinted decorator's icing. Prep time is really a guess - I use a food processor to grate my veggies. There is also cooling time between baking and icing. Plan on quite a bit more prep time if you plan to decorate the cake as well. This cake makes 12 large servings or 24 party size smaller slices."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 10mins
• Ingredients: 19
• Serves: 12-24

ingredients

• 1 cup canola oil or 1 cup safflower oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1⁄2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 cup finely shredded raw carrot
• 2 (4 ounce) jars carrot baby food
• 1 cup finely shredded zucchini, unpeeled
• 1 (4 ounce) jar beet baby food
• 1 1⁄2 cups chocolate chips

• Frosting

• 6 ounces light cream cheese, softened
• 1⁄2 cup sweet unsalted butter, softened
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 4 1⁄2 cups powdered sugar
• food coloring, paste (optional)
• white decorator icing (optional)

directions

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat together oil, eggs, sugar, and vanilla.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in another bowl.
3. Add flour mixture to egg mixture and mix well.
4. Stir in baby foods and grated vegetables.
5. Add chocolate chips and mix together well.
6. Pour into a greased and floured 9x13" baking pan.
7. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F for 35-40 minutes, or until cake tests done with a toothpick.
8. Cool 15 minutes before removing from pan to cool completely.
9. Make sure cake is completely cooled before icing.
10. Combine cream cheese,butter,and vanilla using an electric mixer.
11. Gradually add powdered sugar and mix until smooth; there may be extra powdered sugar- only use as much as you need to get the consistency of frosting that you prefer.
12. Ice the cake with the cream cheese frosting.
13. Cover with plastic wrap- using toothpicks poked in several spots atop the cake to keep the plastic from touching the frosting.
14. This cake requires refrigeration once iced.
15. You may let it come to room temperature before serving, but store leftovers in the fridge.
16. If desired, garnish with candy make to look like little vegetables and some chopped nuts or grated coconut or just leave plain.
17. NOTE:If you are planning to decorate the cake, ice the cake first with the cream cheese frosting and let chill.
18. Then, use purchased or homemade decorator's white frosting and tint some green to make grass, some orange to make pumpkins or carrots, etc.
19. Use decorating tips to design the cake surface like a vegetable garden or as desired with the tinted frosting.