Carrot Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

I made this carrot cake for Dave to take into work on Easter weekend - according to his coworkers, it was one of the best treats I have ever sent into the hospital. A pretty tall compliment!

The original recipe notes 25 minutes, my cake took over 60 minutes. It may work better to split the batter in to two cake pans and create a two layer cake with additional frosting in between. In that case, double the frosting recipe.

Adapted from Sophistimom, makes 1 large cake

Ingredients

1 cup coconut flakes
1 15 ounce can crushed pineapple, including juice
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 pound carrots, peeled and shredded
2 cups sugar
1 1/3 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 teaspoon orange extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon allspice

8 ounces (1 package) cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cups icing sugar
1 teaspoon orange extract
1/2 cup heavy cream, cold

Orange zest, for garnish

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a large cake pan (12″ round springform pan) with parchment paper. Lightly butter the parchment paper.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, place the coconut, pineapple, zest, carrots, sugar, eggs, extract, flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice. Mix just until combined.

Pour into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Let cool on a wire rack for about 5 minutes, then use a knife to loosen the cake all around the edges. 

In the mean time, beat the heavy cream to nearly stiff peaks in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment. Remove to a separate bowl and set aside. In the stand mixer bowl, next beat the cheese, sugar and extract until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Fold in the whipped cream and briefly beat to combine. Do not over mix.

When cake has completely cooled, frost using a knife or piping bag with your favourite tip. Garnish with orange zest.

♥  Amy