Homemade Carrot Cake Recipes

This is the copycat recipe for the Sara Lee Carrot Cake. I have tried quite a few carrot cake recipes but this one is really good (and I am so picky)! You can always double the recipe and make two cakes.

Sara Lee's Carrot Square Cake Recipe
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla
6 ounces Oil
1 teaspoon Salt
1-1/2 teaspoons Baking powder
2 teaspoons Cinnamon
1 cup Sugar
1-1/4 cups All-purpose flour
1 cup Carrots -- grate fine
1 cup Walnuts -- well-chopped
1/2 cup Light raisins

Cream Cheese Icing
6 ounces Cream cheese - softened
1/4 pound Butter
1 pound Powdered sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons Orange extract
1 teaspoon orange peel
1 tablespoon Light corn syrup or pancake syrup
1 tablespoon Cornstarch or flour

Combine first 8 ingredients with electric mixer on medium-high. Beat 3 minutes scraping down sides of bowl often. Remove beaters. Stir in last 3 ingredients. Grease and flour 9" square pan. Spread batter evenly in pan. Bake at 325 about 50 minutes. Cool in pan about 30 minutes.
Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting and sprinkle with additional walnuts.

Icing: Cream the cream cheese with the butter until light and fluffy, using med-high speed of electric mixer. Add half of the sugar, increasing speed to high. Add extract and peel and beat about 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl often. Resume beating adding remaining powdered sugar. Beat smooth. Frost sides and top of cake.