If you’re not a fan of carrot cake, you’ve obviously never had this glorious rendition.

The applesauce and pineapple in the recipe keep the cake deliciously moist, and cream cheese frosting provides the perfect tangy counterbalance. Plus, no garish orange-and-green carrots piped atop each individual slice! Just tasty tasty walnuts. So, bonus.
A few of you might remember this recipe from exploring berkeley back in the day. We’ve brought it back to the future because, as it turns out, it makes great cupcakes as well:
Ultimate Carrot Cake
Beat together:
4 eggs
3/4 c vegetable oil
1 c brown sugar
1 c white sugar
3 tsp vanilla extract
Then mix in:
2 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp salt
3 tsp ground cinnamon
0.25 tsp nutmeg
Then fold in:
3 c grated carrots
20 oz canned pineapple, chopped/crushed and drained (optional)
0.5 c applesauce (optional)
1 c chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
Bake at 350 degrees in a greased 9X13 baking pan. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Let cool before frosting.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
Beat together:
0.5 c butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3.5 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Frost cooled cake and sprinkle on:
1 c chopped nuts