Nutty Homemade Carrot Cake Recipe

Carrot cakes are fun to eat and very nutritious. The carrot cake recipe is considered to be one of the healthiest desserts. Carrots are rich in vitamin A, which is considered to be essential for good eyesight. As the carrot cake has loads of carrot in it along with walnuts, pecans, raisins, coconut etc, its nutritional value increases two-fold. Here is a nutty homemade carrot cake recipe that is very filling and super tasty.

•  2 cups vegetable oil
•  2 2/3 cups white sugar
•  5 eggs
•  2 2/3 cups grated carrot (this will be about 9 carrots peeled and grated)
•  1 1/3 cups walnuts
•  1 1/3 cups pineapple cut in small and thin cubes
•  2/3 cup coconut flakes (you can use fresh grated coconut too, if you have the time)
•  1/3 cup raisins
•  3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
•  1 1/3 tablespoons baking soda
•  1 1/3 tablespoons baking powder
•  2 2/3 tablespoons cinnamon
•  1 teaspoon salt

Method:

•  Preheat the oven to 350F.
•  Grease two 10-inch baking pans.
•  In a large mixing bowl, add the eggs, vegetable oil and sugar, and beat them on a medium speed for about 4 minutes until the sugar dissolves and you get a smooth white mix.
•  Add the cut pineapple and grated carrots to the mix and beat at a very low speed to mix the ingredients.
•  Stir in the walnuts, raisins and coconut flakes.
•  In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon powder and salt.
•  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well so that you get a cake mix of dropping consistency.
•  Pour the batter in the greased pans and smooth the tops.
•  Bake in the preheated oven for about 30-40 minutes.
•  Let the cake cool for about 30 minutes before applying the frosting or serving.

This cake can be stored for about 2-3 days in an airtight container. You can even freeze the cake for later use.

For frosting the cake you can use cream cheese frosting or a caramel sauce. Here are some ways you can frost the cake:

(i) Cut the cake in three layers and apply frosting on each layer and also cover all the   sides.
(ii) Apply frosting on all the sides of the cake and garnish with coconut flakes and nuts.
(iii) You can also use fresh cream to serve with the cake.
(iv) When using caramel sauce, warm the cake a little before serving.