Grandma's Carrot Cake

I have always wanted to make a Carrot Cake with cream cheese frosting! So, I chose not to use the recipe posted here, and instead made a traditional Grandma style Carrot Cake.

I found Paula Deen's to be the one I would work on. I have already made her Banana Cake with cream cheese frosting a few times before and it was a hit!

I did not use nuts being that my husband is allergic and I added in Coconut and crushed Pineapple to make it even more special. I also cut her recipe in half because her cakes are so huge!

It was lots of fun since I love baking. Grating carrots was a bit of a pain, however the rest of the prep and baking went smoothly.

Here it goes...



Ingredients

Cooking spray for pans
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups grated carrots
1 (8 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup flaked coconut

Frosting:

1 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
Half stick salted butter, room temperature
Half of (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 2 (9-inch) round pans

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and
salt. Add eggs and vegetable oil. Using a hand mixer, blend until
combined. Fold in the pineapple, carrots, and coconut. Pour batter
into prepared pans.

Bake for approximately 45 minutes. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Remove from pans, place on waxed paper and allow to cool completely before frosting.

While cake is baking prepare the frosting

Add all ingredients into a medium bowl and beat until
fluffy using a hand mixer. Spread frosting on top of
each cake layer. Stack the cakes on a serving plate and serve.

adapted from Paula Deen's Recipe


This cake was totally fabulous and delicious!! It was moist and not too sweet. The added pineapple and coconut really gave it nice coloring and flavor. My husband loved it too, I did not tell him what was in it and he guessed, which was pretty cool. I plan on sharing this with some friends. And I will definitely make this one again!

Thanks Rena!