Here's my Favorite carrot cake recipe. It is always a hit at gatherings and has become my most-requested cake recipe. The "secret" is the Orange! Personally, I do not like raisins in carrot cake and am glad this one doesn't require them. If it did, I would simply omit them.

Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add oil and stir well making a very stiff mixture. Set aside. Wash orange and cut into small pieces (leave the peel on!). Put the orange pieces in a blender container and adding one egg at a time, beat the mixture until it is smooth and foamy. Add this mixture to the stiff mixture that was set aside. Mix well. Add 2 cups of grated carrots, mix and then add the nuts. Blend the mixture well.

Pour batter into a well-greased or oiled tube pan (bundt pan). Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 F for 40-50 minutes. The cake is done when it starts shrinking from the sides of the pan. Cool the cake in the pan for 10-15 minutes then invert it onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before icing it (recipe for icing follows).

rectangular baking pan. In this case, reduce the baking time to 35 minutes or until done. The cake tastes equally good without the icing. I only ice it on special occasions. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Icing: Cream cheese should be at room temperature. Mix all the ingredients together to form a smooth paste.

From the 'REcipeinternet: Recipes from Around the World' recipe list.