Easy Gluten-Free Carrot Cake

Note: You can use regular flour for this recipe as well if you don't need GF.

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ⅓ cups gluten-free all-purpose baking flour
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon  
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups grated carrots
• 1/2 cup raisins (optional)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
• milk

Cream Cheese Icing:½ (8 ounce) package cream cheese
¼ cup butter, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan or 2 round cake pans. 

Beat white sugar and vegetable oil together in a bowl using an electric mixer until smooth and creamy; beat in eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix.

Combine baking flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a separate bowl; mix into sugar-vegetable oil until batter is smooth. Fold carrots into the batter. If batter is too thick add a little bit of milk at a time ( it should resemble a VERY thick pancake batter and it is not as loose as a regular cake mix). Pour into the prepared baking pan.

Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Allow cake to cool completely, at least 30 minutes.

Beat cream cheese and butter together in a bowl using an electric mixer; beat in confectioners' sugar, a little at a time, until icing is smooth and creamy. (You might not use all of the sugar, so taste as you go along. I use less because I don't like it too sweet.) Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and beat well. Spread icing onto cake.