"BEST CARROT CAKE RECIPE

By RoketJSquerl

Ingredients

• For the Carrot Cake
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups peeled, grated carrots
• 1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• For the Cream Cheese Frosting
• 16 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• To Garnish
• Chopped pecans

Details

Adapted from browneyedbaker.com

Preparation

Step 1

DIRECTIONS:
Make the Carrot Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease three 9-inch cake pans, line the bottoms with a round of parchment, grease the parchment, then flour the pans and tap out the excess. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugars, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract until thoroughly combined and there are no lumps of brown sugar. Add the flour mixture and, with a rubber spatula, gently stir until mostly combined. Add the carrots, pineapple, pecans, raisins and coconut and fold together until thoroughly combined.
Divide the batter evenly between the three prepared cake pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with clean, 22 to 28 minutes. Cool the cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
Make the Cream Cheese Frosting: Beat the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until smooth and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and beat to combine. Add the powdered sugar and salt and beat on low speed until combined, then increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
Assemble the Carrot Cake: Place one cake layer on a serving platter and spread with 1 cup of the cream cheese frosting. Top with a second cake layer and again spread with 1 cup of the cream cheese frosting. Place the final cake layer on top, top-side-down (so the bottom of the cake is actually facing up), then frost the top and sides with the remaining cream cheese frosting and garnish the sides with chopped pecans, if desired. Serve immediately or refrigerate, covered, until ready to serve. The cake can be made up to 1 day in advance and leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator, in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
RECIPE NOTES:
You can omit the coconut, pecans and/or the raisins in the cake without making any other adjustments to the batter, but the cake may bake more quickly so start checking for doneness sooner.
If you prefer, you can bake the cakes in 8-inch pans, but will need to increase the baking time slightly.
The cake can be prepared a day in advance and stored in the refrigerator.
You can also bake the cake layers, wrap and freeze for up to 3 months, then thaw and assemble. The entire cake can be assembled, wrapped tightly and frozen for up to 1 month.
The amount of frosting is enough to fill and cover the cake, but if you want enough frosting to pipe decorations, I recommend making a larger batch (1.5x).
Cake stand is from Sur La Table.