carrot cranberry cake with orange cream cheese frosting

"vegetables are a must on a diet.  i suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread, and pumpkin pie."

-jim davis

[via gingerbread bagels]

mmmm...  here's another one from gingerbread bagels!!  this looks so good!!  it reminds me of the cranberry-orange dish that i make for thanksgiving.  what a perfect fall treat.  oh, and what is that??  cream cheese in the frosting?!  oh my...

For the Cake:

2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

2 cups sugar

1 cups buttermilk, at room temperature

1/2 cup canola oil

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups shredded carrots

1 (8 ounce) can of crushed pineapple, drained well

2/3 cup dried cranberries – tossed with 1 Tablespoon all purpose flour

1/2 cup unsalted walnuts, chopped

For the Frosting:

3 cups powdered sugar

8 ounces cream cheese

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 teaspoons orange juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon orange zest

Chopped unsalted walnuts, for topping.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift together the flour, baking soda, kosher salt, cinnamon, allspice, ginger and nutmeg. Set aside.

Grate 2 cups of carrots. (I typically use a food processor with the shredding disc blade but you can do this by hand)

Drain the crushed pineapple really well. (I put the pineapple in a strainer and press the juice out with my hands.)

Toss the cranberries with 1 Tablespoon of flour.

And measure out the chopped walnuts.

Set the shredded carrots, crushed pineapple, cranberries and walnuts aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the sugar, buttermilk, canola oil, eggs and vanilla extract on medium speed until completely combined.

Slowly add in the dry ingredients on low speed. Mix until just combined.

Take a spatula and fold the ingredients together.

Add in the shredded carrots, crushed pineapple, cranberries and walnuts. Fold them in.

Pour the cake batter into a lightly greased 9 by 13 inch baking pan. Spread the batter out evenly.

Bake the cake at 350 degrees F for 25-28 minutes.

Cool the cake completely on a cooling rack. While the cake is cooling, make the orange cream cheese frosting.

Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl and set aside.

In a bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, mix together the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until smooth for about 2 minutes. Do not over mix.

Add in the orange juice, vanilla extract and orange zest. Mix.

Slowly add in the powdered sugar on low speed until combined. Then increase the speed to medium and mix for about 2 minutes.

Spread the frosting onto the cooled cake. If you like, top the cake with chopped walnuts.

Cut into pieces and enjoy!

[source]:  carrot cranberry sheet cake with orange cream cheese frosting from gingerbread bagels

love.nu