Sweet carrot cake

Ingredients:

To the Cake:
2 cups of general-purpose flour
Baking powder, two tablespoons
Baking soda, two tablespoons
2 tablespoons of cinnamon powder
1/4 cup salt
3 cups of carrots, grated (you can grate the carrots in a food processor fitted with a shredding blade)
1 cup of pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped
1 cup of sweetened or unsweetened coconut shreds
1/2 cup plump, juicy raisins (golden or black) or dried cranberries
Sugar, two cups
1 cup of safflower or canola oil
Four big eggs

When frosting:
8 ounces of room temperature cream cheese
Unsalted butter, 1 stick (8 tablespoons), at room temperature
3 3/4 cups (3 pounds) confectioners
1/2 teaspoon of pure lemon essence or 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
12 cup optionally shredded coconut
For the topping, you can use toasted coconut or chopped, finely roasted almonds.

Preparation:

To prepare the cake, arrange the oven’s racks so that it is divided into thirds and warm to 325°F (165 C). Three 9-inch round, 2-inch deep cake pans should be butter and floured. Flour the inside and tap out any extra.

The flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt should be whipped together and put aside. Combine the carrots, chopped almonds, coconut, and raisins in a separate bowl.

The sugar and oil should be combined until smooth either in a mixer with the paddle attachment or in a big basin with a whisk. As you add the eggs one at a time, beat the mixture more until it becomes even smoother. Reduce the speed of your mixer to low. If you’re mixing by hand, turn to a big rubber spatula. Gently whisk in the flour mixture. Only stir until the dry ingredients are completely incorporated. Add the chunky components while still stirring slowly.

The batter is divided among the baking pans, and the pans are then placed in the oven. Bake the cakes for 40 to 50 minutes, turning the pans around halfway through from top to bottom and from front to back. When a knife pushed into the middle of the cakes comes out clean, the cakes are fully cooked; the edges of the cakes will just begin to pull away. After 5 minutes of chilling, put the pans out onto cooling racks to finish cooling to room temperature. After this, the cakes may be refrigerated for up to two months; defrost before icing. Alternatively, they can be wrapped tightly and left at room temperature for an entire night.

For the frosting, whip the cream cheese and butter until they are smooth and creamy using a mixer with a paddle attachment. Add the sugar gradually and keep beating until the frosting is silky smooth. Lemon juice or extract should be beaten in.
If you want coconut in the filling, take approximately half of the frosting and combine it with the coconut.

Place one layer of the cake, right-side up, on a cardboard circle or cake plate before frosting it. Use half of the coconut frosting, if you added coconut to the frosting, to generously coat the top layer. To evenly spread the frosting to the layer’s edges, use an offset spatula or a spoon.

Place the cake top-side down while adding the second layer on top. Apply the remaining coconut icing on the cake. Place the last layer on top, right-side up, and coat the top and edges of the cake with basic frosting, if desired. Add frosting swirls to the top layer to complete it. Sprinkle the toasted nuts or coconut on top of the cake immediately, while the icing is still soft, if you prefer to do so. Just to set the icing, place the cake in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.

When the icing has dried, the cake is ready for serving. It may also be left out overnight if it is kept at room temperature and covered with a cake keeper. The cake tastes excellent alone but is great with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, or even some lemon curd with a little whipped cream thrown in. It is best served in thick slices at room temperature.

Storage: The cake will remain at room temperature, covered, for two to three days. You can also freeze it uncovered, let it to firm up, then wrap it tightly and store it in the freezer for up to 2 months. Defrost it overnight in the fridge while still wrapped.