My garden just gave me about 2 lbs of carrots. What better way to celebrate than to make some carrot cake! I'd already put the cake in the oven before I realized I should make an instructable with it. So bear with me on the pictures.

My aunt was the queen of carrot cake, this is my poor attempt at re-creating her deliciousness.

Ingredients:
- 4 large carrots (if store bought) or 3 cups of garden fresh carrots. I measure in cups because they vary in size so much.
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup of vegetable oil
- 2 cups of sugar
- 3 cups of flour
- 1/2 cup of fresh squeezed orange juice
- 1 tablespoon of baking powder
- 1 teaspoon of salt

Step 1:

Heat your oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 9x13 baking pan.

Add the eggs, sugar, carrots, oil and orange juice to your blender. Blend until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Add the flour, salt and baking powder to a bowl. Whisk the carrot smoothie into the four, mix it really well.

Add the batter to the baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes or until the dreaded fork comes out clean. I say dreaded because I've lost many a carrot cake by sticking the fork in it before it was ready. So, it is better to be a little overdone or your cake will collapse.

Step 2: Chocolate Sauce

This is the go to chocolate sauce in Brasil, everyone makes it in their own little way.

Ingredients:

- 1 Tablespoon of butter
- 8 Tablespoons of unsweetened baking chocolate powder
- 1/4 cup of sugar
- 6 Tablespoons of milk.

Add it all to a saucepan. Whisk it together for 5 minutes in medium heat. When it starts to thicken up it is done.

Step 3:

The cake is done!!!! make lots of fork holes all over the surface. Don't worry, it won't deflate now. Add the chocolate sauce and spread that goodness all over.

Let it cool for an hour before cutting it. I know it is hard.

Step 4:

Cut in diamonds... to make the diamonds cut it straight, then a second cut in the diagonal... the pictures show better than I can explain.

Step 5:

You can it eat it any way that suits your fancy.

The real Brasilian way is to slap some homemade butter on it and have strong, sweet coffee to go along.

It is also wonderful with soft cream cheese, or jut by its lonesome self. Bom appetite.