Purple Carrot Cake

Ingredients

• butter
• 9 ounces purple carrots , finely grated
• 0.5 cups brown sugar
• 0.5 cups white sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1.33 cups all-purpose flour
• 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 0.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 0.25 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 3 eggs
• 0.5 cups unsweetened applesauce
• 0.25 cups light vegetable oil
• 0.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon purple food coloring , Optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with butter.

2. 2

   Combine grated carrots, brown sugar sugar, white sugar, and lemon zest in a bowl. Toss to coat and allow the natural juices to come out. Set aside.

3. 3

   Mix flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a separate bowl.

4. 4

   Whisk eggs, applesauce, oil, and vanilla extract together in a large bowl. Add flour mixture 1/4 cup at a time, mixing until just combined. Fold in carrot-sugar mixture with all the juice that has accumulated. Add food coloring. Pour batter into the prepared baking dish.

5. 5

   Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.

6. 6

   Cool cake on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Run a table knife around the edges of the pan to loosen. Invert cake carefully onto a serving plate or cooling rack. Let cool completely.