To-Die-For Carrot Cake

By á-25138

Ingredients

• Cake:
• One One
• 1 1/4 cups unsweetened applesauce (or oil, this is what my Nana used)
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• Two Two
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• Three Three
• 2 cups grated carrots
• 1 cup coconut
• 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup Dole crushed pineapple (not drained!)
• {use the pineapple in JUICE not syrup}
• Cream Cheese Frosting:
• 1/2 cup butter (softened)
• 8 ounce cream cheese (softened)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 pound powdered sugar

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350°F

Combine applesauce, 2 cups sugar, 3 eggs and mix.

Add flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and mix.

Stir in carrots, coconut, chopped nuts (optional), vanilla and pineappple in the mix.

Pour into a lightly greased 9 x 13 or two 8 or 9-inch pans.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cakes cool completely!

For the frosting:
Beat the butter and cream cheese until nice and fluffy. Add in the vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until nice and smooth. In the interest of full disclosure, I ALWAYS double this recipe. We love our cream cheese frosting and although I never use it all, it's amazing on top of graham crackers. That's how my Nana would serve it to us for snacks ;)

Invert the cake onto a cake plate or stand.

Apply a generous dollop of frosting and spread...

Gently place the second cake on top and continue frosting. (Note: Sometimes if the cake is crumbly, I'll do a crumb coat. If I'm in a hurry or don't think it's going to be an issue, I'll skip this step.)

OPTIONAL

Chop pecans-approx. 1 cup - Sprinkle on cake around the edges on top
and sprinkle Coconut on top in the middle.