The Best Carrot Cake.

Whenever I've made this I get at least 4 or 5 people telling me it's the best carrot cake they've ever tasted. I took a recipe my mother had found years ago and tweaked it here and there and came up with this one. My best friends Colleen & Chris chose it as one of their baby shower cakes.

 

Ingredients:

 

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups canola oil

4 eggs

2 cups grated carrots

8 oz crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup flaked coconut

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

 

 

 

1. Preheat oven to 350*. Grease a 13"X9" pan or 2-9" round pans.

2. Sift together the first 7 ingredients, from flour to ginger.

3. Make a well in the middle and add the rest of the ingredients, from the sugar to the coconut.

4. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 35-45 minutes.

5. While the cake is baking, prepare the frosting:

 

Ingredients for frosting:

 

16 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1 stick butter, softened to room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted (NOTE: If you like your frosting sweeter you can use more sugar but you may need to add a tablespoon or more of milk to thin the frosting out if necessary.)

 

1. Cream butter and cream cheese with electric mixer until combined and smooth. Add vanilla extract and sugar, beat until smooth.

 

Do not frost the cake until completely cool. Decorate the top with chopped nuts and coconut if desired.

 

 

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