This is my favorite carrot cake. The texture and flavor are just right. A former proprietor of the popular Diamond Deli in downtown Akron shared the recipe with the Beacon Journal years ago, and I haven’t tried a different recipe since. It’s that good. The new owners kept the cake on the menu; otherwise, customers might have staged a mutiny.
I do often substitute applesauce for a third of the oil to cut down on fat a bit. Sometimes I add 2 tablespoons of frozen orange juice concentrate to the frosting. Or I use part brown sugar and add a tablespoon of molasses. All good.
Pat’s Diamond Deli Carrot Cake
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (or 1 cup plus 1/2 cup applesauce)
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
3 heaping tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
3 cups shredded carrots
1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
Beat eggs, sugar and oil till combined. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Add to egg mixture. Add carrots, nuts and drained pineapple.
Bake in 9-by-13-inch pan at 375 degrees for about 50 minutes (start checking at 40), till toothpick inserted an inch from center comes out clean. Cool and frost.
Cream cheese frosting
16 oz. cream cheese (can substitute neufchatel to lower fat), at room temp
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, at room temp
2 tsp. vanilla extract (pure preferred over imitation)
3 to 4 cups (about 1 lb). powdered sugar
Blend butter and cream cheese until smooth. Blend in vanilla. Add powdered sugar a cup at a time till creamy and preferred consistency.
Hi Debbie!
Carrot cake is one of my most favorite kinds of desserts & if its on the menu, I always order it. This look yummalicious! Thanks for sharing it.
I found your blog when I was looking for zucchini soup from Pat’s Diamond Deli in Akron. Any chance you might have that one in your files, too?
Actually, this was the recipe for Egg Castle’s carrot cake. It was published in the Beacon Journal in 1992. I loved their carrot cake and was ecstatic that they shared it. I’ve used this recipe ever since. However, it’s baked at 325° F, which makes for a very moist cake.
Also, I use Rose Levy Beranbaum’s white chocolate cream cheese buttercream recipe for the frosting. It is, by orders of magnitude, better than powdered sugar frosting. It appears in her cookbook “The Cake Bible.”