Grease the bottoms of three 8” inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper, and lightly grease the paper. Set aside.
You can use different size pans, but check the “Notes” section below for baking times.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°F).

Peel and grate the carrots.
I used a box grater, but you can use a food processor if you prefer. Use the medium-small holes of the grater, not the big holes or the tiny holes (see the video).
Grate the carrots fresh! Do not use pre-grated carrots from the supermarket or your cake may end up being dry.

Sift together the self-rising flour, spices, and baking soda and set aside.
(The pictures show me whisking the ingredients, but I also sifted them after that. I forgot to take a picture)

Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each.

Add the flour mixture in three batches, mixing gently after each addition. Do not overmix. Some streaks of flour are okay.

Fold in the carrots, crushed pineapple (and nuts and/or raisins, if desired).

If you’d like to break up the work, you can use this as a stopping point. Wrap the cakes in plastic wrap, and place them in the fridge overnight. You can make the frosting tomorrow. Alternatively, you can continue with the steps below and finish everything in one day.

Prepare the frosting. First, brown the butter.
Put the butter into a small saucepan and melt over medium heat. Once the butter has fully melted, a white foam will begin to appear.

The color of the butter will change to brown and the smell of the butter will become a little nutty. Remove the pan from the heat and pour it into a heatproof container.

Transfer the browned butter to the fridge to cool and become solid again.

You’ll need two bowls to make the frosting. Into the first bowl, add the cold cream cheese and use a spatula to scrape and smash it until it has a smooth consistency. Place it into the fridge while you continue to the next step.

Add the cold cream cheese in two batches to the butter/sugar mixture, and mix on low speed after each addition until incorporated.
If you have lumps of cream cheese, smooth them out with a spatula. Try not to work with the frosting too much or it might become runny. If that happens, put it in the fridge to chill until it firms up.

Place the frosting in the fridge while you prepare the cake layers.

If the top of your cakes are rounded, trim them with a serrated knife until they are flat and even.

Place one of the cake layers onto a flat surface, then scoop about 3/4 cup of frosting onto the top. Level it with a offset spatula. Stack the two remaining cake layers in the same way.

Apply the outer layer of frosting, then decorate as desired.

Notes:

🥕 Self-rising flour usually has salt in it. You can add 1/4 teaspoon of additional salt to this recipe if you prefer.

🥕 To make your own self-riding flour, whisk together 1 cup of all purpose flour, 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt.

🥕 If you use 9” round pans, check for doneness at 25 to 30 minutes. If you use a 9x13” pan, do not line it with parchment paper. Grease and flour it instead. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

More Notes:

🥕 If you want to use less oil, replace ⅓ cup of vegetable oil with an equal amount of unsweetened applesauce.

🥕 The cake layers can be baked, cooled, and covered tightly at room temperature overnight. I prefer to put mine in the fridge, however.

🥕 You can wrap the individual unfrosted cake layers in plastic wrap followed by aluminum foil and freeze them for up to 3 months.