Coconut Carrot Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Grease bottom and sides of 13x9-inch pan or 2 (8- or 9-inch) round cake pans with shortening; lightly flour.
• In large bowl, beat granulated sugar, oil and eggs with electric mixer on low speed about 30 seconds or until blended. Add flour, cinnamon, baking soda, vanilla and salt; beat on medium speed 1 minute. Stir in carrots, pineapple, nuts and coconut (batter will be thick). Pour into pan(s).
• Bake 13x9-inch pan 40 to 45 minutes, round pans 30 to 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool rectangle in pan on cooling rack. Cool rounds 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, make Cream Cheese Frosting. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and milk with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until smooth and spreadable.
• Frost 13x9-inch cake or fill and frost round layers with frosting. Store covered in refrigerator.

Steps:

• Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Spread shredded coconut in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toast until golden brown and aromatic, 3-5 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, lightly coat cake pans with nonstick spray. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper; lightly coat parchment with nonstick spray.
• Whisk toasted coconut, flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, and ginger in a medium bowl. Combine carrots and buttermilk in another medium bowl.
• Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl until pale and thick, about 4 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low and gradually stream in oil. Add dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with carrot mixture in 2 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients; beat until smooth. Divide batter between prepared pans; smooth top.
• Bake cakes, rotating pans halfway through, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack and let cakes cool 10 minutes. Run a knife around sides of cakes and invert onto wire rack; remove parchment. Let cool completely.
• Spread 1 Tbsp. frosting in the center of a platter. Place 1 cake, domed side down, on platter. Spread 1 1/4 cups frosting evenly over top. Place remaining cake, domed side down, on top. Spread top and sides with 2 cups frosting. Chill 30 minutes to let frosting set.
• Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake, swirling top decoratively. Press coconut flakes into frosting on sides of cake. Chill at least 30 minutes or up to overnight to let frosting set.
• Do Ahead
• Cake can be made 3 days ahead; wrap tightly in plastic and chill, or freeze up to 2 weeks.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Grease two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans or 13x9-inch pan and lightly flour, or spray with baking spray with flour. In large bowl, beat cake mix, orange juice, oil, pineapple, orange peel, vanilla and eggs on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Stir in nuts, coconut and raisins. Pour into pans.
• Bake 8- or 9-inch rounds 30 to 35 minutes, 13x9-inch pan 37 to 43 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. Run knife around side of pans to loosen cakes; remove rounds from pans to cooling racks. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
• Stir orange peel into frosting. Place 1 cake layer, rounded side down, on serving plate. Spread with about 1/3 cup frosting. Place other layer, rounded side up, on top. Frost side and top of cake with remaining frosting or frost top of 13x9-inch cake. Store in refrigerator.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8-inch-round cake pans and line each bottom with a round of parchment paper. Beat the sugar and eggs together until smooth and pale. Slowly beat in the oil, scraping the sides of the bowl so it is evenly blended. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cardamom, cinnamon, fennel, nutmeg, cloves and salt and add to the eggs. Continue to beat until it is just combined. Stir in the carrots and coconut and pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake until the cake is firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool and remove the cakes to a cooling rack. Cool completely before frosting.
• To frost: Place a cake layer on a cake platter and cover with a layer of the Spiced Mascarpone Frosting. Place the second layer on top of it and frost the rest of the cake. Scatter the toasted coconut on top.
• Beat the cream cheese, mascarpone and butter together until smooth and creamy. Add the icing sugar, lemon juice, cardamom, cloves and salt and beat until light and fluffy. If the icing seems a little runny, add a little more icing sugar until it reaches the desired consistency. Use immediately for frosting the cake. Freeze any unused frosting for another use.

Steps:

• Butter and line a traybake or small roasting tin, about 20 x 30cm. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Gently melt the butter in a large saucepan, cool for 5 mins, add the sugar, vanilla and eggs, then beat until smooth with a wooden spoon. Stir in the flour, coconut and ¼ tsp salt. Stir the carrot and mixed spice into the mix. Bake for 30 mins.
• Meanwhile, evenly mix 85g more coconut with 25g light muscovado sugar and 25g melted butter. Smooth this over the cake, then bake for 10 mins more until golden and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Cool, then cut into squares.

Steps:

• For the cake: Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour three 9-inch round, 2-inch deep cake pans, flour the insides and tap out the excess.
• Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut and raisins.
• Working in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a whisk, beat the sugar and oil together until smooth. Add the eggs one by one and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother. If you are working in a mixer, reduce the speed to low, if you're working by hand switch to a large rubber spatula, and gently stir in the flour mixture - mix only until the dry ingredients disappear. Just as gently, stir in the chunky ingredients.
• Divide the batter among the baking pans and slide the pans into the oven. Bake the cakes for 40 to 50 minutes, rotating the pans top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The cakes are properly baked when a knife inserted into the centers of the cakes comes out clean; the cakes will just start to come away from the edges. Transfer the pans to cooling racks, cool for 5 minutes, then turn out onto racks to cool to room temperature. (At this point, the cakes can be wrapped airtight and kept at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months; thaw before frosting.)
• For the frosting: Working in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the lemon juice or extract.
• If you'd like to have coconut in the filling, scoop out about 1/2 of the frosting and stir the coconut into this portion.
• To frost the cake, place one layer of the cake, right-side up, on a cardboard round or a cake plate. If you've added coconut to the frosting, use half of coconut frosting to generously cover the first layer. Use an offset spatula or a spoon to smooth the frosting all the way to the edges of the layer. Top with the second layer, this time placing the cake top-side down. Frost with the remainder of the coconut frosting. Top with the last layer, right-side up and use the plain frosting to cover the top - and the sides, if you want - of the cake. Finish the top layer with swirls of frosting. If you want to top the cake with toasted nuts or coconut, sprinkle on these ingredients now, while the frosting is soft. Slide the cake into the refrigerator for 15 minutes, just to set the frosting.
• Serving: The cake can be served as soon as the frosting is set. It can also wait, at room temperature and covered with a cake keeper, overnight. The cake is best served in thick slices at room temperature and, while it's good plain, it's better with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or even some lemon curd with a little whipped cream folded in.
• Storing: Covered the cake will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. It can also be frozen, uncovered, and then, when it is firmed, wrapped airtight and kept in the freezer for up to 2 months; defrost, still wrapped, in the refrigerator overnight.