Kitchen Sink Carrot Cake

This recipe came to me through my magical Google reader.  I love this thing.  I don’t have to go from blog to blog looking for new posts.  The new posts come to me!  That is how life should be, right?  You want it…it arrives.  If only everything in life was like this…or would that be too boring?  Always getting what you wanted when you wanted it?  Another topic for another time…

Almost all of the posts I read are foodie blogs.  I have a few news feeds from Amarillo and Austin as well as a few design blogs including my sister-in-law’s blog Grey is Pink which has some design, some fashion and some life stories.  I have to sift through lots of recipes every day as many bloggers post at least once a day.  I must admit this, the pictures are what hook me.  If there is a tasty looking photo to accompany a tasty sounding recipe, I am in.  This is how I happened upon this recipe for carrot cake.

King Arthur Flour has a ton of yummy sounding recipes.  Their blog, Baker’s Banter, tests some of those recipes and gives an honest opinion of their success and also includes step-by-step photos to accompany the recipe.  So, I won’t make you look at my step-by-step photos since the one’s on Baker’s Banter are pretty thorough.  I will just show you this one photo of my completed cake since many of the ones I took did not turn out that great.  This cake is full of so many yummy ingredients that I could barely control my pure and utter happiness!  Carrots, pecans, coconut and pineapple.  Yum.  The cream cheese icing isn’t too sweet, but sweet enough to pair perfectly with the mild sweetness of the cake.  You will not be disappointed if you enjoy a carrot cake like this…packed with all kinds of goodness and topped with creamy frosting.

Kitchen Sink Carrot Cake

Courtesy of King Arthur Flour

Cake Ingredients
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup melted butter
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon allspice
  • 3 ½  cups finely grated carrots
  • 1 cup diced pecans or walnuts, toasted if desired
  • 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (preferred) or sweetened coconut
  • 1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained and squeezed dry
Frosting Ingredients
  • 6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
  • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 3 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
  • 2 tablespoons milk, or enough to make frosting spreadable
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ pan.
  2. Beat the eggs, sugars, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl till smooth, about 2 minutes at medium-high speed.
  3. Mix the melted butter with the oil. With the beater running, add the oil mixture in a stream, beating till smooth.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, leaveners, salt, and spices. Add these dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring to make a smooth batter.
  5. Stir in the carrots, nuts, coconut, and pineapple.
  6. Spoon the batter into the pan, spreading it to the edges.
  7. Bake the cake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the cake is golden brown, and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
  8. Remove the cake from the oven, and cool right in the pan.
  9. When it’s completely cool, make the frosting.
  10. Combine the butter, cream cheese, vanilla, and salt in a medium-sized bowl, and beat together until light and fluffy.
  11. Add the sugar gradually, beating well.
  12. Add the milk a little at a time, until the frosting is a spreadable consistency.
  13. Spread frosting over the cake. Garnish with minced crystallized ginger, if desired.

Yield: 9″ x 13″ sheet cake, about 24 servings.