• Cooking Time: 40-45 minutes
• Servings: 9
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 3/4 cup oil
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 cup grated carrots (about 18 mini carrots)
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• Frosting (optional)
• 3 tablespoons cream cheese, softened
• 1 tablespoon butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.; grease an 8" or 9" square pan.
2. Measure ingredients, in order, into a large mixing bowl. Blend 1 minute at low; 2 minutes at medium.
3. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely and frost if desired.
4. For frosting, combine cream cheese, lemon peel and butter in a small bowl. Cream with hand mixer until thoroughly blended. Add powdered sugar, vanilla and 1 teaspoon juice and continue to beat until smooth and creamy, adding more juice if needed.

Need just a little cake? Here, I adapted an old recipe for carrot cake to make just an 8" sized cake. I actually counted out 18 mini carrots, just so I could call it an 18 carrot cake!