The conventional version of this recipe came from Mary Dorcas Walker of Phoenix, Az. The microwave version is moister, lighter and rises higher because the air inside a microwave oven rremains at room temperature. The hot, dry air of a conventional oven bakes a crust around the outside of a cake that holds in its volume. As Jill Crum, director of the Microwave Cooking Library's test kitchen, says, "To convert for microwaving, you usually need todecrease liquid and increase fat, but this cake is rich in eggs and oil and has no additional liquid, so the proportions don't have to be changed." This holds true for pudding cakes in the microwave, too.

confectioners' sugar, for topping

Lightly spray a 12-cup plastic fluted tube pan with vegetable cooking spray. Add crumbs; tilt and rotate pan to cover bottom and sides; shake out excess crumbs. Mix flour, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and salt.

In a large bowl beat sugar, oil and eggs with wooden spoonuntil blended. Stir in caarrots and nuts, then flour mixture until well blended. Pour into prepared pan.

Place pan on an inverted glass plate or plastic trivet in microwave oven. Rotating pan a quarter turn twice, microwave on medium-high 18-22 minutes, until a pick inserted in cente rof cake comes out clean. (If using transparent pan, lift and check bottom, ; cake should look dry.) Moist spots on surface will dry while cake is standing.

Cool in pan directly on flat heatproof surface 10 minutes. Cake should pull away from sides and tube of pan. Run a thin-bladed spatula around sides and tube to loosen cake. Invert onto a rack; remove pan and cool completely. Dust top with confectioners' sugar.

Makes 16 servngs.

[ Woman's Day magazine, 3/24/87. ]

** -=> this comes from the bottom of the files of Shelley Rodgers <=-