This is a delicious carrot cake recipe with a frosting that complimented nicely without overwhelming it. I am certainly planning to make it again soon.

Bill’s Big Carrot Cake

For the cake
2 cups of flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
2 teaspoons of baking soda
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon of salt
3 cups of finely grated carrots
1 cup of coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup of shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
1/2 cup of moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) or dried cranberries (optional)
2 cups of sugar
1 cup of canola oil
4 large eggs

For the frosting
8 ounces of cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup of butter, room temperature
3 3/4 cups of powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 teaspoon of pure lemon extract
1/2 cup of shredded coconut (optional)
Finely chopped toasted nuts and/or toasted shredded coconut (optional)

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 325F. Butter three 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, flour the insides, and tap out the excess.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut, and raisins.
Beat the sugar and oil together on a medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs one by one and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear. Gently mix in the chunky ingredients. Divide the batter among the baking pans.
Bake until a cake tester comes out clean when tested, about 40-50 minutes. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and unmold them. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.
Frosting: Beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the powdered sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the extract. If you’d like coconut in the filling, scoop about half of the frosting and stir the coconut into this position.
Assembly: Put one layer top side up on plate. Use a third of the frosting to generously cover the first layer, smoothing the frosting all the way to the edges of the layer. Top with the second layer, top side down, and frost with another third of the frosting. Top with the last layer, right side up, and frost the top and the sides of the cake. Finish the top with swirls of frosting. If you want to top the cake with toasted nuts or coconut, sprinkle them on now while the frosting is soft. Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes, just to set the frosting before serving.

Baker’s Note

I quartered the recipe and made 2 small cakes to later slice horizontally (although I probably should have make 3) and also quartered the frosting. The frosting was not even enough for 2 small 2 layer cakes.

Yield: Serves 10
Source: From Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan