Cathy's Favorite Carrot Cake

Cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups peeled and coarsely grated carrots
8-oz can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350^F. Grease and flour a 9x13" cake pan.

Combine the flour, soda, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.

Beat the eggs, sugar, buttermilk, oil and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth. Beat in the dry ingredients. Fold in carrots, pineapple and pecans. Pour batter in prepared pan and bake 45-55 minutes or until cake tests done. If cake is browning too much, loosely cover with aluminum foil after about 30 minutes.

Glaze:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 stick unsalted butter, diced
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vanilla

Combine sugar, buttermilk, butter, corn syrup and soda in a large saucepan,stirring until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring often until the glaze is a deep amber color. The glaze will thin out when almost done. Remove from heat add vanilla.

Loosen edges of cake from pan but leave it in the pan. Poke holes in warm cake with a bamboo skewer and then slowly pour the glaze over the cake. Let cool completely in the pan and then turn out onto a tray/platter/cake taker.

Frost. Enjoy!

Frosting:
5 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 lb powdered sugar
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Beat the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and cinnamon; beat until well blended Spread over cooled cake.

Delicious Carrot Cake!