Carrot Cake

This year for his birthday my husband requested a carrot cake.  I was happy to oblige, because I love carrot cake too - especially chilled, mmmmmmm.

This recipe was given to me by my sister-in-law, Raena, and it has become a family classic.  I made one a couple of years ago for a fundraising auction, and it sold for $25!


Carrot Cake

1 1/2 cups oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
2 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)


First peel and grate your carrots.  I love using my Cuisinart Food Processor for this, because it does it so fast and I don't have to worry about grating my fingers!

Combine the oil and sugar then mix in the eggs one at a time.  Add the vanilla, pineapple and grated carrots.

Sift the dry ingredients then mix them into the wet ingredients.  Stir in the coconut and (optional) nuts.

Pour the batter into lightly greased pans (9x13 or 2 9" rounds).

Bake the cakes at 350° for 35-45 minutes.  Let the cakes cool in their pans for 10 minutes before removing.  I put them on plates to cool completely.

Frost with cream cheese frosting.

OK, I usually call it good at this point.  It's ready to eat.  But for this special birthday occasion, I wanted it to be a bit more colorful.  I used about a cup of coconut and colored it up by placing it in a bowl and mixing it with a few drops of food coloring. The coconut will turn a beautiful color (I used red and yellow to make orange - that elementary school art class came in handy).  Then I sprinkled and pressed the coconut to the outside of the frosted cake.  My son thought I had actually decorated the cake with grated carrot!  I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing, but I think next time I'll try making my coconut a different color - lime green perhaps?