Recipe Tuesday Afternoon (Delight): Cinnamon Chip Carrot Cake.

Full disclosure: I’m really proud of my carrot cake. It’s a recipe I created myself, and is pretty close to perfection, if I do say so myself. More than one person has gone as far as dubbing it “the best carrot cake they’ve ever had in their life.” That’s no small feat, as there are probably hundreds of different carrot cakes out there. What makes mine so special, you might ask? Well, it uses real carrots for starters. It also doesn’t have nuts in it. Instead of nuts, I use Hershey’s Cinnamon Chips. I believe these chips were a gift to us from the gods – I can’t resist eating them right out of the bag. I think I may have even eaten a whole bag once. But that’s all in the past. The chips provide the crunch factor like a nut would, without the allergies, and with the addition of melt-in-your-mouth cinnamon-y goodness. Top with cream cheese icing (recipe posted here), and add a border of more chips around the base.  This cake is guaranteed to make you the most popular kid in school (or in the office – it worked for me). By the way, this cake is small – it’s a 6 incher – the perfect Small Indulgence. 🙂

Cinnamon Chip Carrot Cake.

What you’ll need:

2 eggs

1 1/4 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 cups canola oil

2 oz carrots (peeled and finely chopped)

1/4 cups Cinnamon Chips (plus extra for decorating)

What you’ll do:

Preheat the oven to 350° F.  In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until well combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour sugar, salt, cinnamon and baking soda. Pour them into the eggs and continue mixing on low speed. Add the oil and carrots and mix well. Fold in the cinnamon chips.  Grease two 6″ rounds, and divide the batter equally between them. Bake for 22 – 25 minutes.  Cool  completely on a wire rack before frosting. Share and enjoy with friends. 🙂