I love this time of year, when everything is coming back to life, and all the blooming flowers put a sweet smell in the air. Easter, one of my favorite holidays, is right around the corner so I am sharing a carrot cake recipe that I love. It is a great addition to an Easter brunch, or to serve to your kiddos after an Easter egg hunt, or after an afternoon of running around outside.

I originally found this recipe on TastyKitchen.com, but have modified it some by cutting the sugar in half because: A) I don’t really like really sweet cakes (especially if they are frosted), and B) The ingredients (coconut and pineapple) in a carrot cake sweeten the cake naturally.

I made this cake with four, thin layers of cake, and put it together (and topped it) with a cream cheese frosting. Cream cheese frosting is my favorite! I just put a light layer of frosting in between the layers, and on the outside because I don’t like a ton of frosting on my cakes. I also like the look of a deconstructed, lightly frosted cake, where you can see all the layers of cake. Have you seen pictures of a deconstructed wedding cake, topped with fresh flowers?! TO. DIE. FOR.

Here is what I did with this cake.

NOTE: If you want to make this recipe with four layers (as pictured), double the recipe (or you can double it and make just a 2 layer cake, or use smaller pans to make a thicker cake).

Ingredients

• 2 cups Unbleached All-purpose Flour
• 2-1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
• 2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. Nutmeg
• 1 cup Crushed Fresh Pineapple
• 1-1/2 stick Unsalted Butter, Softened
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 3 Eggs
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 2 cups Grated Carrots
• 1 cup Sweetened, Flaked Coconut
• Cream Cheese Frosting

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and line two 9 inch cake pans with parchment paper.
• Mix flour, baking powder, and spices until well blended, set aside.
• Add fresh pineapple (you could use frozen pineapple chunks too) to a food processor and puree until it measures 1 cup (keep it a little chunky), set aside.
• Beat butter and sugar with a KitchenAid Mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until well blended. Add flour, alternating with the milk, and beat well after each addition. Then add your carrots, coconut, and pineapple. Mix well, and pour evenly into your greased cake pans.
• Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Coll in the pans for about 10 minutes before you move to a wire wrack to cool completely.
• Remove parchment paper from cakes, and then layer, and frost your cake together once completely cooled.
• Enjoy!

Be sure to store your cake in the fridge because it has cream cheese frosting. I also put the cake on the bottom of a spring form pan, so it would take up less space in the fridge (vs. keeping it on a cake stand).

Speaking of cake stands, I am still in love with the one pictured above (along with the rest of the matching set), that Will and I received as wedding gifts back in 2015. I specifically had Easter parties, and spring/summer get togethers in mind when I registered for this set from ANTHROPOLOGIE.

HERE’S A SIMILAR LOOKING ANTHRO SET:

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If you don’t already have a cream cheese frosting recipe, you can find mine HERE.

Here is the CARROT CAKE RECIPE IN PDF.

I hope you all enjoyed this post. Be sure to comment, and let me know what you think after you have tried the recipe!