Casey and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary last week! I made him a cake to celebrate! Carrot Cake is our number one FAVORITE cake. I decided to try the recipe from The Magnolia Bakery cookbook my neighbor gave me.

The cake turned out FANTASTIC! It was the first time I used pineapple in a carrot cake and I really enjoyed the result. I did not use the toasted coconut though…I thought it might take away from the carrot flavor.   If you end up trying it with the coconut, lemme know how it is!!!

For the Cake Part:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup vegetable oil (canola is preferred)
• 1 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups lightly packed shredded carrots
• One 8oz. can crushed pineapple in it’s own juice-with juice
• 3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut (I omitted this part)
• 2 cups coarsely chopped toasted pecans  (1 cup for the garnish and 1 cup for cake batter)

To toast the pecans, place on a baking sheet in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes, or until lightly brown and fragrant. Set aside to cool

Preheat Oven 325 degrees.

Grease and lightly flour two 9×2 inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with wax paper. (I used Pam instead and it worked just fine!)

In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, beat the oil and sugar together. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat until light & thick (about 2 minutes). Add the vanilla and beat well. Gradually add the dry ingredients, beating until well incorporated.  Stir in the carrots, pineapple (with it’s juice), 1 cup of pecans and coconut (if you decide to use it). Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the layers cool in the pan for 1 hour. Remove from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting Part:

• 2 8oz. packages of cream cheese (softened and cut into little pieces)
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened and cut into little pieces)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 5 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar (I used a heaping 4 cups cuz I don’t like it tooo sweet!)

In a large bowl, on the medium speed beat the cream cheese and butter until smooth (about 3 minutes). Add the vanilla and beat well. Gradually add the sugar, 1 cup at a time until smooth and creamy. Cover and refrigerate the frosting for 2-3 hours to thicken before using. Do not keep it in the fridge any longer or it will be too hard to frost!

When the cake has cooled, ice between the layers, then ice the top and the sides of the with the Cream Cheese Frosting. Put the toasted chopped pecans around the edges. Tada!

I quickly gave half of the cake to my neighbors.  There’s no way that cake would have lasted under our supervision! You’ll see what I mean….