Three or Four Ingredient Carrot Cake

If there is one thing I can't resist, it's a new carrot cake recipe!

Anyone who has followed Annie the Porcupine's adventures or my blog knows that carrot cake holds a special place in my heart. Over the years, I have experimented with carrot cake in just about every way imaginable. From muffins and cookies to cheesecake and cobbler, I am always looking for something new.

Recently, someone shared a recipe with me that immediately caught my attention. Not because it was fancy or complicated, but because it only required THREE ingredients!

That's right. Three!

A box of carrot cake mix, a can of pumpkin pie filling, and some chopped walnuts.

No eggs. No oil. No peeling or shredding carrots. Just three simple ingredients mixed together to make a cake.

Now, that sounded almost too easy!

Of course, if you know me, you know I can't always leave a recipe alone. My mind immediately started thinking about what else I could add. Raisins!

I love raisins in carrot cake. They add a little sweetness and a chewy texture that pairs perfectly with crunchy walnuts. So, what started as someone else's three-ingredient recipe quickly became my four-ingredient adventure!

Four-Ingredient Pumpkin Carrot Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 box carrot cake mix (approx. 15.25 oz.)

• 1 can pumpkin pie filling (15 oz.)

• ½ C chopped walnuts

• ½ C raisins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry carrot cake mix and pumpkin pie filling. Do not add the eggs, oil, or water listed on the cake mix box.

3. Stir until thoroughly combined. The batter will be thick.

4. Fold in the chopped walnuts and raisins.

5. Spread the batter into a greased 8-by-8-inch baking dish.

6. Bake for approximately 30–40 minutes, checking until the center is fully set and a toothpick comes out without wet batter.

But What About the Frosting?

Now, I know what some of you are thinking. What about cream cheese frosting?

Believe me, I thought about it too!

There is something about carrot cake and cream cheese frosting that just seems right. But part of the appeal of this recipe is its simplicity.

Of course, a little cream cheese frosting might turn this simple cake into something extra special. And at that point, who's counting ingredients anyway?

I can just imagine Annie standing beside me in the kitchen, watching as I dump a box of cake mix into a bowl.

"Where are the carrots?" she would ask.

"They're already in the cake mix, Annie."

"What about the eggs?"

"Don't need them."

"Oil?"

"Nope!"

She would probably wrinkle her little porcupine nose as I opened the can of pumpkin pie filling.

"Pumpkin? I thought we were making carrot cake!"

"We are!"

I can picture her looking into the bowl, trying to figure out how pumpkin and carrots could possibly belong together.

And then, just as I started stirring, she would spot the raisins.

"Now you're adding those too?"

"Of course! A little something extra never hurts."

I think Annie would agree that sometimes the best recipes come from a little experimenting.

Especially when carrots are involved!