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Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso
Carrot cake with tropical fruit and nut accents, coupled with lemony cream cheese frosting
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Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 30 minutes
3 hours
Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12

Equipment

  • 1 standing mixer

Ingredients
  

For the cake

  • 3 c. all-purpose flour
  • 3 c. granulated sugar
  • 1 t. salt
  • 1 T. baking soda
  • 1 T. cinnamon
  • 1½ c. corn oil
  • 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 T. vanilla extract
  • 1½ c. macadamia nuts, chopped
  • 1½ c. shredded coconut
  • 1⅓ c. pureed cooked carrots
  • ¾ c. drained, crushed pineapple

For the frosting

  • 8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
  • 6 T. unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 3 c. confectioner's sugar
  • 1 t. vanilla extract
  • ½ lemon, juiced

Instructions
 

To make the cake

  • Preheat oven to 350° F.
  • Grease two 9" round cake pans lined with wax or parchment paper.
  • Sift dry ingredients into the bolw of a standing mixer.
  • Add oil, eggs, and vanilla; beat well.
  • Fold in nuts, coconut, carrots, and pineapple
  • Pour batter into the prepared pans.
  • Set on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 30-35 mins. or until edges have pulled away from the sides of the pan, and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Cool on a cake rack 10 mins. then remove from cake pans and finish cooling another 3 hrs.

To make the cream cheese frosting

  • Cream together cream cheese and butter in a mixing bowl.
  • Slowly sift in confectioner's sugar and continue beating until fully incorporated; mixture should be free of lumps.
  • Stir in vanilla and lemon juice.
  • Fill cake and frost sides with cream cheese frosting.
  • Refrigerate cake until serving.

Notes

In a pinch, I've substituted vegetable oil for the corn oil; and when I've been really short for time (and can't get to the grocer), I've used light olive oil.  No one has ever noticed the difference.  So now, when I'm feeling virtuous (therefore anti-corn), I use vegetable oil or light olive oil, or even macadamia nut oil, as my oil in this recipe.
For a 9" x 13" sheet cake (one layer), adjust the quantities of the ingredients:
  • 4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 4 c. granulated sugar
  • 1 1/4 t. salt
  • 4 t. baking soda
  • 4 t. cinnamon
  • 2 c. corn oil
  • 5 large eggs plus 1 egg white, lightly beaten
  • 5 t. vanilla extract 
  • 2. shelled walnuts
  • 2 c. shredded coconut
  • 1 3/4 c. pureed cooked carrots
  • 1 c. drained crushed pineapple
 
Keyword Carrots, Coconut, cream cheese, macadamia nuts, pineapple