Hoppy Easter! Sorry, I couldn’t resist. Carrot cake has always been one of my favorite cakes (second only to German Chocolate Cake!). And this version is incredibly easy to prepare at home for any holiday or special occasion. Flecks of shredded carrot and sweet coconut marry with warm spices in a moist and decadent cake. And who can forget the sweet cream cheese frosting that’s the hallmark of this dessert? Feel free to add raisins or crushed pineapple if you’d like to make it your own, but I always skip these in my house.
Jonny’s Best Carrot Cake
Servings 0
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 cup brown sugar, light or dark
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 3 medium carrots, grated, about 2.5 to 3 cups
- 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
- 2 cups chopped walnuts, divided
For the Frosting
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, milk, and vegetable oil until fully combined.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and spices. Working in batches, stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until combined. Do not over mix.
- Fold grated carrot, coconut, and half of the walnuts into the cake batter to evenly distribute.
- Pour batter into a greased 9" x 13" baking pan, spreading edge to edge.
- Bake in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Once the cake is finished baking, set aside to fully cool before icing.
- To make the frosting, beat together softened butter, cream cheese, vanilla extra and salt. Then, working one cup at a time, gradually beat in the powdered sugar until the frosting reaches the desired consistency.
- Generously frost the top of the cake, and sprinkle the remaining chopped walnuts on top.
- Enjoy!
