Tropical Carrot Cake
A flavorful tropical twist on classic carrot cake. This tropical carrot cake combines the sweetness of pineapple and coconut with earthiness of carrots. For the finishing touch, the assembled cake is frosted with cream cheese infused with freshly grated lime zest for a pop for bright flavor.Yield: 8-inch cake
Servings: 14
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (260 g)
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 g)
- ½ cup brown sugar, (100 g) packed
- 1 cup canola oil (198 g)
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla paste or pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups shredded carrots, (300 g) about 3-4 large carrots
- 6 oz can crushed pineapples, drained
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut, (85 g) lightly toasted
Lime Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 16 oz brick-style cream cheese (454 g) room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter (113 g) room temp, softened
- 1 ½ cup confectioners' sugar (170 g)
- zest from one lime
Additional:
- dark rum for soaking cake layers
- unsweetened coconut flakes to garnish sides of cake
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Grease and line two 8-inch cake pans with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together sugar, brown sugar, and oil. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix thoroughly.
- Fold in shredded carrots, crushed pineapples, and toasted coconut. Add dry ingredients in two additions and mix until just incorporated.
- Divide batter evenly between the two prepared cake pans. (Weigh out batter to ensure even cake layers.) Bake for 30-45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Let cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before unmolding. Run a knife or a small offset around the perimeter of cake before inverting. Let cake cool to room temperature on wire rack before frosting and assembly.
Lime Cream Cheese Frosting:
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together cream cheese and butter on medium high speed until smooth and fluffy. Reduce speed and gradually add in confectioners’ sugar. Add lime zest. Combine to beat until frosting is smooth and spreadable.
Assembly:
- Once cakes are at room temperature, unmold and make sure layers are the same height. If necessary, cut tops of cake with a serrated cake knife.
- Place one cake round on cake board. Lightly soak cake with dark rum. Evenly spread about ½ cup of lime cream cheese frosting (or more if desired) on cake using an offset spatula. Repeat soaking and spreading frosting on second layer of cake.
- Use remaining frosting to coat sides of the cake. If desired, garnish with unsweetened coconut flakes
- Chill cake in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Notes
adapted from Home Baked Comfort by Kim Laidlaw
Nutrition
Calories: 502kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 61mg | Sodium: 542mg | Potassium: 261mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 42g | Vitamin A: 4866IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 152mg | Iron: 1mg