for some reason I thought it'd be a really good idea to buy a massive bag of babby carrots. Surely I'll make a carrot cake and get really good at it. Well, life these days has a way of sneaking up on you and all the sudden the carrots were close to not being in their prime anymore. Time to make carrot cake...

I used a recipe of Nigella's, minus her request for orange peel. I didn't have that on hand and myself post taste-test, would have added in some raisins, and maybe some more carrots. The overall verdict is- the frosting makes it and the cake needs a lot going on. Personally, I thought it's flavor was a bit flat...

Preheat oven to 400. Beat scant 1/2 c. light brown sugar and 3/4 c. oil. Add 2 eggs, one at a time, then add 1 1/2 c. flour, 3/4 t. baking soda, 1 tsp. cinnamon, pinch of salt, and zest of 1/2 a lemon. Now fold in 2 med. carrots, grated. Then stir in, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. I'd suggest toasting them... and also I'd suggest raisins here.

Put into muffin tins and bake for 20 min. Cool before icing.

This icing ratio is a winner. Beach 4 ounces cream cheese and 1 2/3 cup confectioners' sugar. Put in a squeeze from one third of a lemon or lime. Delicious.

I suppose I'm still in search of the perfect carrot cake, but this frosting was perfection.