Carrot Cake

1. Wash and peel your carrots. Grate them using the small holes on a box grater. It should resemble very finely shredded cheese. Measure out 2 1/2 cups, not tightly packed, and set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to to 350F and grease 3 round 6″ cake pans or 2 or 3 round 8″ cake pans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round sheet of parchment paper and, if you have them, wrap the pans with dampened cake sleeves.
3. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, whisk together the oil and sugars.
5. Once combined, mix in the eggs and vanilla.
6. Then mix in the carrots and sour cream.
7. Pour in all of the dry ingredients and gently stir to combine.
8. Evenly distribute the batter between the cake pans.
9. For 6″ pans, bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Bake 30-35 minutes if using 8″ pans.
10. Let the cakes cool in the pan for about 15 minutes then turn them out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. This can be done at room temperature or sped up in the refrigerator.
11. If making the cakes a day ahead, wait for the cakes to cool completely then wrap each layer individually in plastic wrap. Store in the refrigerator overnight. 

Cream Cheese Frosting

1. While the cake chills, make your cream cheese frosting. If it’s too thin, chill the frosting for about an hour to thicken.
2. To assemble, level off the tops of each cake using a cake level. Then, spread a thin and even layer of frosting between each cake.
3. Spread a very thin layer of frosting around the entire outside of the cake (also known as the crumb coat) and chill for 20 minutes.
4. Then apply a thick layer of frosting around the chilled cake and then spread it even. See my post on how to frost a layer cake for more details. 
5. With any remaining frosting, you can pipe swirls on top of the cake and/or add carrot decorations all around the outside. Separate a few spoonfuls of the frosting into two dishes. To one, add one to two drops of green gel food coloring and a tiny toothpick swatch of brown. To the other, add one to two drops of orange gel food coloring and a tiny toothpick swatch of brown. 
6. Transfer the colored frosting to two separate piping bags fitted with small around tips. Pipe tiny carrots all around the outside of the cake, followed by the green carrot stalks. Sprinkle with finely chopped walnuts and then chill the cake for an hour to set.
7. Now slice and enjoy!