Cake is one of the most decadent and delicious dessert options there is—and everybody has their own favorite flavor. While some people prefer the lighter flavors of vanilla or yellow cake with a vanilla frosting on top, others have to go for the richer tastes of dark chocolate or red velvet. Though there’s no right answer to these questions, there are still some cake varieties that seem to get consistently overlooked. It’s one of those recipes that we’re going to be making today.
Speaking personally, my favorite cake of all time is probably carrot cake. Although it’s not as commonly eaten, the combination of spices, sweet flavors and moist texture results in a perfect dessert dish. Still, of all the carrot cake recipes we’ve tried, this one may just be the best carrot cake recipe of them all. Fortunately, it’s incredibly easy to make and will probably become one of your new favorites. So what are we waiting for?
Here’s what you’ll need:
Cake:
- 1 1/4 cups of unsweetened applesauce (or oil)
- 2 cups of granulated sugar
- 3 room temperature eggs
- 2 cups of all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 2 cups of grated carrots
- 1 cup of shredded sweetened coconut
- 1 cup of chopped nuts (optional)
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla
- 1 cup of Dole crushed pineapple in juice (not syrup)
Frosting:
- 1/2 cup of softened butter
- 8 ounces of softened cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla
- 1 pound of powdered sugar
- toasted pecans or coconut flakes (optional)
Here’s what you do:
1. To start, preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Once that’s set, get a large mixing bowl and mix your applesauce or oil together with two cups of sugar and three room temperature eggs. Whisk it together with a fork until everything is well-combined.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together your flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon so it’s evenly mixed. Gradually add those contents into your other mixture as well. Add in your vanilla as well.
3. Finally, gradually add your grated carrots, sweetened coconut, pineapple and chopped nuts (if you’re using them). Stir everything together once more so that it’s all fully incorporated.
4. When your batter looks done, grease up some cake pans (either two nine-inch pans or three eight-inch pans). To be sure the cake won’t stick, try to use the baking spray with a little flour mixed in or line your pans with parchment paper. Once the oven is ready, put your pans in and let them bake for 35 to 40 minutes if you’re using nine-inch pans or 25 to 30 minutes if you’re using eight-inch pans.
6. Once the time is up, do the toothpick test to make sure the cakes are fully cooked. Let them cool for 10 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool the rest of the way.
7. To make your frosting, get mixing bowl and beat together your butter and cream cheese until it turns fluffy. Add vanilla and powdered sugar and continue beating it until it’s all incorporated and smooth. When your cakes are cool enough, frost the top and the sides of each layer and assemble your cake. Refrigerate for an hour and then dig in!
While this recipe has plenty of ingredients, putting everything together couldn’t be easier. If you followed all the directions correctly, the resulting cake should be perfectly moist—complemented well by the creamy frosting on top! While there’s plenty of steps to this one, feel free to experiment and leave out ingredients as you see fit once you’ve given it a try. As always, have fun and let us know what you think!
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