Aunt Lillians Prized Carrot Cake

As a child, I always enjoyed visiting with my Grandfather's sisters, Lillian and Preston. Lillian and Preston lived together in the most quaint of cottage homes I had ever seen. They also had much of a green thumb, their tiny home was amass with blooming flowers and birds visiting heavy feeders. Before I was known in this world, Preston's husband had passed and she never had children, to her heartbreak. Lillian was engaged  to a man, before he broke her heart, calling off the engagment. She never loved again.  These sad circumstances in love, later led to the sisters moving in together up until they passed when I was in my twenties. For me, never knowing my grandfather, they were my only link to his past and his family. Even as a very young girl, I would beg them, literally, to tell me stories about their lives. They had a way of telling, the gift really, much like my idol Ms. Katheryn Tucker Windham, with that drawl of a true southern belle, reeling you in. Their story telling was an artform. I would hang on their every word,  as I gobbled up some delicious dessert that they fed me while they spoke. When they passed, I was left with many wonderful memories they had passed to me, that and recipes of delicious desserts, like Aunt Lillian's Carrot Cake.

Aunt Lillian's Prized Carrot Cake

Ingredients:
2 C self rising flour
2 c sugar
1 1/2 c wesson oil or corn oil
4 eggs, beaten
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp cinnamon
3 c shredded carrots (do NOT buy preshredded carrots. It will NOT work, this was proven the hard way. Please, grate, grate, grate and do it with love. It will taste better!)


Frosting or Filling:
1 stick margarine
1 small package cream cheese
1/2 c chopped pecans
1 box confectioners sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Mix sugar, oil and beaten eggs. Blend in flous and cinnamon that has been sifted together. Add carrots and vanilla. Beat well. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Makes 2 layers.
FROSTING: Bring margarine and cream cheese to room temperature. Cream together. Add remaining ingredients and spread on cooled cake.

This is my Foodie Friday contribution this week. The gracious Gollum is our host. To see more great recipes, please visit Designs by Gollum, Foodie Friday participants by clicking here.