Mom's best carrot cake

My dad really loves carrot cake. My mom enjoys making it for him on his birthday. It's been a while since I've made it. I used to make it for my kindergarten class after we went to the farm. I used the fresh carrots we picked and used them for this cake. Since we have an abundance of carrots growing in our garden, I decided to use those to make carrot cake for my in-laws. What makes this cake so moist is the crushed pineapple. You'll love it, too--guaranteed!

I only have a 3x5 card with the handwritten recipe on it, so I don't know what book the recipe comes from. Enjoy!

Carrot Cake

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups vegetable oil

4 eggs

8 1/2 ounces crushed pineapple (juice drained)

2 cups shredded carrots

1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

First mix first six ingredients then add the oil; stir and add the eggs. Add carrots and nuts and stir all together. Finally add the pineapple. Pour batter into a 9x13 inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

When the cake is cooled, you might want to make your own homemade cream cheese frosting. This recipe comes from Camp Ironwood's cookbook called, Come and Dine.

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 ounces cream cheese

3 tablespoons margarine

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 tablespoon milk

3/4 teaspoon vanilla

Allow cream cheese and margarine to stand at room temperature until softened. Beat with mixer. Add powdered sugar, milk and vanilla to the cream cheese mixture and blend until creamy. (Add more powdered sugar if the frosting is too thin and more milk if frosting is too thick.)