Cup of Yum
1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. Add the walnuts to a large frying pan over medium-low heat and cook until browned, which takes about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove the walnuts and finely chop. Set aside.
4. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and set aside.
5. In a large bowl whisk together the oil, sugars, eggs, and vanilla until completely combined and smooth.
6. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until smooth using a whisk.
7. Fold the shredded carrots and 1 cup of walnuts into the batter until combined.
8. Transfer the batter evenly between the 3 prepared 9” cake pans with non-stick spray and parchment paper rounds and bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until firm in the center.
9. Cool the cake for 15 minutes in the pan before removing from the pan and completely cooling on a rack.
10. Make the cream cheese frosting and set aside until the cake has cooled.
11. Once the layers are cool and top cut flat, stack them with about 3/4 cup of frosting between each. Don’t forget the sides.
12. Optionally add on the remaining chopped walnuts around the outside of the cake and on top.

Icing Carrots Option

1. Reserve about 2/3 cup of the cream cheese frosting and evenly divide it into two separate bowls. If you are short on cream cheese frosting then simply increase the cream cheese frosting recipe by 25%
2. Add orange food coloring to one bowl and green to the other and individually stir until mixed in.
3. Transfer each icing to a piping bag with a fine piping tip and make orange carrots and green stems on the top of the cake.