Hey there! It’s Brittany from bebe a la mode designs. One little thing to know about me is…I love a good carrot cake! I also love coconut, so when you add the two together it’s heavenly! This carrot cake is one of our all-time favorite recipes at our house and has a secret ingredient to make sure it comes out perfect every time.
In a large bowl, add 1 1/2 cup melted coconut oil (this gives it that yummy coconut taste), 4 beaten eggs, 2 1/2 cups sugar, and 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract; mix well.
Add 1 cup of sweetened, shredded coconut, 1 1/2 cups grated carrot and the SECRET INGREDIENT…8 ounces of carrot baby food. Yes, baby food. Not only does the carrot purée make the cake nice and moist, but it saves you the time of puréeing the carrots yourself.
Mix into the batter until well mixed.
Add 3 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt.
Mix thoroughly until your batter looks something like this…
Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with non stick cooking spray and divide the batter evenly into each prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes, or until a inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes and transfer to cooling rack.
Meanwhile, it’s time to make the cream cheese frosting.
Cream two 8-ounce blocks of cream cheese (at room temperature) with 1 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks). Add 1 1/2 pounds of powdered sugar (sifted is best), 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon almond extract. Mix until smooth and there are no lumps.
Now it’s time to frost the thing. On a flat platter or cake stand, place one round cake layer, top side down, and spread with frosting.
Place second round cake layer, top side up, and frost the top and sides. (Tip: place strips of waxed paper around the plate and under the cake to keep the platter clean).
Garnish with sweetened, shredded coconut.
Serve and enjoy!
Coconut Carrot Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ c coconut oil melted
- 4 eggs beaten
- 2 ½ c sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 c sweetened, shredded coconut
- 1 ½ c grated carrot
- 8 oz carrot baby food
- 3 c all-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 ½ tsp salt
Frosting:
- 16 oz cream cheese (at room temperature)
- 1 ½ c butter (3 sticks)
- 1 ½ lbs powdered sugar (sifted is best)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp almond extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add melted coconut oil (this gives it that yummy coconut taste), eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract; mix well.
- Add shredded coconut, grated carrot and the carrot baby food.
- Mix into the batter until well mixed.
- Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
- Mix thoroughly.
- Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with non stick cooking spray and divide the batter evenly into each prepared pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes, or until a inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes and transfer to cooling rack.
Frosting:
- Cream the cream cheese and butter.
- Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract and almond extract. Mix until smooth and there are no lumps.
- On a flat platter or cake stand, place one round cake layer, top side down, and spread with frosting.
- Place second round cake layer, top side up, and frost the top and sides (Tip: place strips of waxed paper around the plate and under the cake to keep the platter clean).
- Garnish with sweetened, shredded coconut.
- Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
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I just made this tonight and wanted to let people know about some modifications. First off, it was delicious and beautiful! I made it in a 9×13 pan instead and that worked perfect. I also used 1 cup of oil and 2 cups of sugar (cutting back 1/2 cup of each). It was still delicious and perfect. I made 1/2 the recipe of frosting and still had a ton leftover so that is definitely worth considering. Just thought I’d share! Thanks for the recipe.
Looks yummy!!