​Carrot Cake to die for

Prep time
10 mins
Cook time
25 mins
Total time
35 mins
Serves: 16 slices


Ingredients
Cake:
#One
  • 1¼ cups unsweetened applesauce
  • 2 cups granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs, room temperature
#Two
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1½ tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
#Three
  • 2 cups grated carrots
  • 1 cup shredded sweetened coconut
  • 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup Dole crushed pineapple (not drained!) {use the pineapple in JUICE not syrup}


Cream Cheese Frosting:
  • 1 cup butter (softened)
  • 16 oz cream cheese (softened)
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 lbs powdered sugar
  • top with toasted pecans or coconut if desired


Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Combine #1 ingredients. Add #2 ingredients. Stir in #3 ingredients.
  3. Pour into a lightly greased 9 x 13 , two 9-inch pans or three 8-inch pans. (The cake is very moist so cutting parchment for the bottom of your pans will ensure they don't stick. I prefer to use the non-stick baking spray that has the flour in it for easy cake removal.)
  4. Bake for 35-40 minutes for the 9x13 and 9-inch pans and 25-30 minutes for the 8-inch pans. You're looking for an inserted toothpick to come out clean.
  5. Let cakes cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then remove to a cooling rack and let cool completely.


For the frosting:
  1. Beat the butter and cream cheese until nice and fluffy. Add in the vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until nice and smooth.
  2. Invert the cake onto a cake plate or stand.
  3. Apply a generous dollop of frosting and spread...
  4. Gently place the second cake on top and continue frosting. Repeat with the third cake if you made three.
  5. Refrigerate for an hour before serving for best results.


Notes
The frosting recipe can be halved if you are not planning on piping a border and adding a lot of frosting decorations to the top of the cake.