From the TV Casualties Cookbook: Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing

What goes better with TV than food?  Especially food of the sugar coated variety!
If you’re going to be a fat ass couch potato, you might as well get there eating awesome food.

This recipe was originally from Bon Appétit, but I’ve made some improvements.  Take my advice and don’t go fouling it up with raisins – or worse – nuts.

Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients
Cake:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or a mix of nutmeg, ginger, and allspice)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups grated peeled carrots (about 10 average sized carrots)
• (optional) 2 tablespoons crystallized ginger

Icing:

• 10 ounces cream cheese (if you only have 8 ounces, substitute an additional 4 TB of butter)
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F and set out the cream cheese and butter for the icing so it can get nice and squishy soft.
Grease two 9-inch-diameter cake pans. Whisk flour, baking soda, salt and spices in medium bowl to blend. Whisk sugar, oil, and yogurt in large bowl until well blended. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time. Add flour mixture and stir until blended. Stir in carrots and crystallized ginger. Divide batter between prepared pans.
Bake cakes until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 30-35 minutes. Cool cakes in pans 15 minutes. Turn out onto racks and let cool completely.
Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar and beat at low speed until well blended. Beat in maple syrup and vanilla. Chill until just firm enough to spread, 30 minutes.
Place 1 cake layer on platter. Spread with about 1/3 of the icing. Top with second layer. Spread remaining icing over entire cake. Garnish with cinnamon or crystallized ginger (optional).
We think this cake is really best after it’s been refrigerated (not that we can wait).