Three Layer Carrot Cake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

Hi friends! So I'm at that stage of wedding planning where my head is starting to spin: "K did this, did that, what about that, wait who is this, i know nothing about flowers, songs? shoes? wwhaaaat?".  Really we're looking pretty solid when it comes to wedding planning, but one thing I was never too concerned about was"THE cake". I figured I'd just make it myself because why not? I did a pretty decent job if I do say so myself on my Halloween Chocolate Pumpkin Cake and I love the semi frosted, rustic look so there was no need for any intense icing or fondant (hate that stuff). So really, if I can decorate it myself, why not make the cake?? But the question is....what flavor??? Well I'll say right now, we have a strong contender when it comes to this Three Layer Carrot Cake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting!!!

My mom has been making this cake since I was a little kid and it's one of our favorite dessert recipes. Seriously, this cake is to die for, and that's coming from a loyal chocolate lover. And look at how pretty it comes out!!! The perfect rustic cake just meant for the semi-frosted style.

Concerned about a dry Carrot Cake? Worry no more!! This one has freshly grated carrots (gotta love food processors) and even crushed pineapple to make sure that it' super moist and super flavorful. Oh and don't forget the coconut, walnuts, and golden raisins!!! When you're making the batter, it might look like there's not enough base because there so many delicious ingredients! But trust me, there's plenty to go around.

Also, a Carrot Cake isn't a Carrot Cake without cream cheese frosting. That might just be my opinion but when it comes to Carrot Cake, cream cheese is where it's AT for this dessert. It adds an extra layer of depth to the sweetness of the frosting and avoids an overly sugary taste. Plus, it's cream cheese. Enough said.

Another thing I really love about this cake? It's way easier than you'd think! A pretty basic baking recipe: Combine wet ingredients in one bowl, dry ingredients in another, mix together, add fun stuff (carrots, raisins, coconut, pineapple and walnuts), mix, pour into greased pan, bake. No folding, no resting, not even any special oven instructions!

I went a little springtime on this Three Layer Carrot Cake with its decorations, edible flowers and berries, etc. But I did try to stick to what was actually in the cake AKA the raisins, coconut, and walnuts. I happened to be at Whole Foods looking for those flowers, and I saw an entire bin of Moscato grapes. De-LISHious and the perfect match for those golden raisins. Top it all of with a dusting of powdered sugar and you've got yourself a wedding worthy Three Layer Carrot Cake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting. Beautiful, and delicious to boot!

I hope you all enjoy this cake as much as I have over the years. If you're nervous about baking a layered cake, remember that I'm definitely not a baker at heart. So if I can make this cake, you can too! Easy, delicious, sweet tooth recipe coming right up...

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Three Layer Carrot Cake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting

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• Author: Adapted from Susan Branch
• Total Time: 40 mins
• Yield: One 3 layer cake 1x

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

For the Cake

• 4 eggs, well beaten
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 ½ cups vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose, unbleached flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 ½ teaspoons nutmeg
• 3 cups fresh, finely grated carrots
• 1 cup coconut chips (substitute shredded coconut if not available)
• 1 8 ounce can crushed pineapple
• 1 cup golden raisins
• 1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

For the Frosting

• ½ cup butter, softened to room temperature
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
• 16 ounces powdered sugar (1 lb box)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla paste (substitute with vanilla extract if not available)

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325˚F. Grease 3 8" straight edge cake pans. Set out ½ cup butter and 8 ounce package of cream cheese to soften (for frosting). Put pineapple in sieve to drain.
2. In a large bowl, cream sugars and beaten eggs until light and fluffy. Whisk in oil and vanilla extract until completely combined.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.
4. Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and beat until smooth.
5. Stir in carrots, coconut, pineapple, raisins, and walnuts.
6. Pour bater into oiled layer pans. Bake for 40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of each cake. Set on a wire rack to cool, at least one hour, or frosting will melt.*
7. Make the frosting: Whisk together butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla paste until completely smooth.**
8. Frost between the layers and on the top. Garnish as desired (coconut chips, walnuts, raisins, etc

Notes

*You can make the cake layers a day ahead of time: After baking the cake layers and letting them cool, remove from their pans, wrap up in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to frost (no more than 24 hours ahead).

**This frosting recipe is enough to frost between the layers and on top of the cake, with a little extra to do a crumb layer if desired. If you want to fully frost this cake, double the recipe.

• Cook Time: 40 mins