Debbie Busch's Carrot-Pecan Cake

In the late 1970s to the 1980s carrot cake was all the rage. There were bazillions of recipes out there. There were two kinds of carrot cake--the kind with a glaze and the kind with cream cheese frosting. I like both, but I went on a quest in the early 1980s to find the best frosted carrot cake in the world. I take my quests very seriously. I finally thought I had it with a recipe that I discovered in a Hawaiian cookbook. But no! I went to a Bible Study (for singles) one night and found my friend Debbie Busch, who was a fantastic cook, made a cake that was better than mine! I mean, how dare she!? Worse, she had all the single men eating her cake and eating out of her hand! Humbled, I asked her for her recipe. The moral: Sometimes you don't have to search the world for the best things. Sometimes they are right there in your back yard....

Note: Do use baking parchment in the bottom of your baking pans. This cake is very moist and hard to get out of the pan in one piece without it!

Ingredients:

2 C flour

2 t baking powder

1 1/2 t baking soda

1 1/2 t salt

2 t cinnamon

2 C sugar

1 1/2 C oil

4 eggs

2 C grated carrots

1 8 oz can crushed pineapple (drained)

1/2 C nuts

Directions:

Sift together first 5 ingredients. Add sugar, oil and eggs. Mix well. Add carrots, pineapple and nuts. Blend thoroughly. Pour into greased and floured 9 X 13" pan or 3 round layer pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Cool and frost.

Divalicious Cream Cheese Frosting: (it's the Jennifer Lopez of frostings)

1/2 C or 1 stick butter, softened

1 8 0z. package cream cheese

2 C powdered sugar, sifted
1 t real vanilla

Cream butter and cream cheese together and add powdered sugar and vanilla. Whip it good! Chill or add more powdered sugar if it doesn't hold in soft peaks. This depends on how hot the day is and how cold your ingredients are.