Carrot cake is one of the only cakes I like. It’s moist and oh so delicious. And since it has carrots and pecans and pineapple, it’s almost like health food!

My boss got married over the weekend, so I made a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.

When I make these for us, I add everything but the pecans, fill several cup papers, then mix in the nuts and fill the rest of the cupcake papers. This way Grandmom can have come carrot cake, and I can still get the nuts I love. (Make sure to use different colored papers to keep everything straight.)

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
2 1/2 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup coconut
1 (20 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained (a smaller can is fine, I just like really moist carrot cake).

Preheat the oven to 350 F.


Grease either a 9×13″ pan or prepare cupcakes (I love the silicone cupcake holders. Place a cupcake paper in them and you’re set.)

Beat the eggs and the oil. Add the vanilla and sugar, and beat till mixture is light and frothy.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Slowly add the flour mixture to the egg, sugar and oil mixture and mix until batter is smooth. Add the carrots, coconut, pineapple, and nuts.

Pour into rectangular pan or cupcake pans. Bake cake for 35 minutes. Start checking cupcakes after 15 minutes (I still don’t have a set time yet. Eventually.) Cake is done when cake tester comes out clean.

Cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz cream cheese, softened
6 tbs butter, softened
1 lb powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla (Mexican vanilla is awesome here)
1 to 2 tbsp milk

Beat butter and cream cheese. Add powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Add milk if needed to think.

Frost cooled carrot cake.

Eat. Yum!

from the King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion All-Purpose Baking Cookbook. This is one of the cookbooks I regularly reach for when I’m baking. It’s not quite as good as the All-American Dessert Book, but then it doesn’t have as many tempting pictures, and I’m a sucker for good food pictures.