Instructions:

Soak the Raisins:

1. Place the raisins in a heat-proof bowl.
2. Place the rum and cinnamon stick (or ground cinnamon) in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat until you see heat waves over the rum, then pour the rum over the raisins.
3. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside while you prepare the rest of your ingredients.

To Make the Batter:

1. Preheat oven to a true 325°F.  It’s highly recommended to use an oven thermometer for this recipe since proper oven temperature will impact the outcome of your cake.
2. Sift together the white wheat flour (if using), all-purpose flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Peel and shred the carrots immediately before baking the cake and set aside. Note: Using bagged, pre-shredded carrots won’t work in this recipe because those carrots have lost most of their moisture.
4. Place the room-temperature butter in a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of your stand mixer.  Mix the butter on medium speed until completely smooth.  
5. Slowly add the granulated sugar and mix on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed to ensure even mixing. (Want to learn more about creaming butter and sugar, and why this technique is so important? Check out my post on How to Cream Butter and Sugar!)
6. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until each egg is fully incorporated.  Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed to ensure even mixing. This step really helps the cake rise.  
7. Add vanilla extract and mix until thoroughly combined.  
8. Sift half of the flour mixture into the bowl, and mix on low speed until combined.  
9. With the mixer on the lowest speed, add all of the carrots and mix until just combined. 
10. Sift the second half of the flour mixture into the bowl and mix on low speed until almost combined.  Stop mixing just before the mixture is fully together.  
11. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the raisins.  Fully scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl.  Then, mix the batter until it is smooth and consistent.  Make sure to fully scrape the bottom of the bowl; this batter will be very thick.
12. Prep an 8”x8” baking pan as you normally would, and place the batter into the pan. Smooth the top of the batter to even it out, and tap the pan gently on the countertop several times to remove any large air bubbles. 
13. Bake in a 325°F oven for 60-70 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer reads 210°F in the center. 
14. Remove the pan from the oven and allow it to cool for ten minutes, the invert the pan onto a cooling rack. Carefully invert the cake again so that the top of the cake remains the same. Allow the cake to cool completely.

To Make the Cream Cheese Frosting:

1. Add the room-temperature butter to the bowl of your stand mixer, or a large mixing bowl.  Mix with the flat beater attachment until very smooth.
2. Add the cream cheese and blend together until smooth.
3. Add fine sea salt and 1 cup of the confectioner’s sugar.  Blend on low speed until there is no evidence of the confectioner’s sugar, then increase to medium speed for 10-20 seconds.  Add the second cup of confectioner’s sugar, and repeat the same process.
4. Add 2 tablespoons of whole milk and mix until blended. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure that everything is mixing evenly.
5. Repeat this same process with the remaining confectioner’s sugar, adding one cup at a time.
6. Once the confectioner’s sugar is completely incorporated, blend on medium speed until the frosting has notably increased in volume, about 2-3 minutes. If additional milk is needed, add 1 teaspoon at a time.
7. You can use immediately, or you can refrigerate and re-whip when ready to use.  
8. Using a spatula, cover the cake with the cream cheese frosting, and enjoy.