Carrot Cake
Easter is just a few days away! One of my favorite desserts to make at this time of year is Carrot Cake. I feel like people either love or hate carrot cake. If you are one of those people who hates it, then you’ve never tried this one. It is insanely delicious! I’ll be making it this again this year. Happy Easter!
Ingredients:
Cake:
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 3 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 cup canola oil
- 2 cups finely grated carrots
- 1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 8 tbsp butter, softened
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Add the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, eggs, vanilla and oil to the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if using a handheld mixer). Beat until combined. Then add the grated carrots, pineapples, coconut and walnuts and mix again.
Grease two 9 inch round cake pans. I like to add a round piece of parchment paper at the bottom of each pan as well to ensure the cakes comes out of the pan easily. Pour the cake batter into the pans. Place in the oven and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes. Check to see if the cake is done by inserting a toothpick to the center of the cake and see if it comes out clean. Once cakes are done, remove and allow them to cool.
To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter to the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl if using a handheld mixer) and beat until light and fluffy. Then add the powdered sugar and vanilla and beat again.
Next, frost the cake. Place one cake round onto a cake stand and top with a layer of the cream cheese frosting. Then place the other cake on top of the frosting, upside down. Then use a frosting knife to frost the rest of the cake. (Sometimes, I do a “naked” frost on the cake as seen in these pics. But most of the time I do a thick layer of frosting because this cream cheese frosting is just too delicious). Depending on what I have on hand, I like to decorate the cake with walnuts, carrots, carrot peel or fresh flowers.
