So, I love to bake!  And I actually have a culinary bucket list.  I have made some of the things on that list, and need to update it.  Interestingly, carrot cake wasn’t on that list.   I have never made a carrot cake before, and although I do like it, I am more of a chocolate lover.  However, there is just something about cake that makes me ooh and ahh.  Not sure why cake is such a big thing to me, but it really is!  Cake and cupcakes…..I love more than any other sweet thing to eat.

I celebrated an anniversary, (a decade with Karol), on April 24, and while usually I would make a cheesecake, I decided to make a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting instead.  So I searched the internet, and found a few promising ones, but I kept going back to the one on the King Arthur website.  Their recipes have NEVER failed me, so I figured I would give it a shot.  It was AMAZING!!  I did make a few adaptions (I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t), but stuck true to the recipe for the most part.

Kitchen Sink Carrot Cake

• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup melted butter
• 3/4 cup melted coconut oil (original recipe called for vegetable oil, but I don’t use that)
• 2 cups King Arthur white whole wheat flour ( I very rarely use white flour)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 3 1/2 cups finely grated carrots (1 pound)
• 3/4 cup diced pecans
• 1 cup shredded coconut.  (unsweetened referred) If using sweetened cut back to 3/4 cup
• 1/2 cup diced dried pineapple (you can substitute one 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained and squeezed dry, if preferred)

Frosting

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 (8 ounce) package reduced fat cream cheese, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted (The original recipe called for 3 cups!!  I like my frosting more “cream cheesy” and less sugary, so I cut back to 1/2 cup. Start there and ad sugar to taste)
• 1 tablespoons non fat milk, or enough to make frosting spreadable

1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ pan.

2) Beat the eggs, sugars, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl till smooth, about 2 minutes at medium-high speed.

3) Mix the melted butter with the oil. With the beater running, add the oil mixture in a stream, beating till smooth.

4) In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add these dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring to make a smooth batter.

5) Stir in the carrots, nuts, coconut, and pineapple.

6) Spoon the batter into the pan, spreading it to the edges.

7) Bake the cake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the cake is golden brown, and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

8) Remove the cake from the oven, and cool right in the pan.

9) When it’s completely cool, make the frosting.

10) Combine the butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and salt in a medium-sized bowl, and beat together until light and fluffy.

11) Add the sugar gradually, beating well.

12) Add the milk a little at a time, until the frosting is a spreadable consistency.

13) Spread frosting over the cake.

Yield: 9″ x 13″ sheet cake, about 24 servings.

This is melted and mixed with melted utter, then poured into egg mixture

Flour and spices are mixed and added into batter.

Mix carrots into batter…..that was A LOT of shredding…..(couldn’t find the shredder adapter to my food processor)

Then add in nuts, coconut and pineapple

Mix together.

Spread into greased 9×13 pan and bake for 45 minutes at 350.

Then make frosting.  Mix butter and cream cheese in mixer.

Mix until creamy, then add in sugar 1/2 cup at a time until it tastes teh way you want it to.

Spread on cake….then EAT IT!!!!!

Enjoy!! This is truly the Best Carrot Cake Recipe Ever!