Tropical Carrot Cake

Carrot cake is a favorite of almost everyone. It tends to be dense, spicy, and very moist due to the various fruits and carrots in the ingredients. This one is particularly nice, with crystallized ginger, lots of macadamia nuts, and a definite tropical flair! It is made, like most carrot cakes, with oil rather than butter.

Carrot cake can be made in a 13"x 9" pan or in layers, depending on the presentation you would like. Layers will frost easier if you freeze them for a few hours with a "crumb layer" on them.

To do a crumb layer, just spread a thin layer of icing over the layers. Freeze for about 2 hours. Now, when you frost your cake the frosting will not have crumbs spread in it.

Most carrot cakes have a better flavor if allowed to stand over night for the flavors to really meld. You can do this by wrapping the layers and leaving at room temperature, or you can frost and refrigerate.

For this particular cake, because of the numerous layers, it is a good idea to place 4 straws down into the cake to hold the layers firmly in place. A good tutorial I wrote on how to do this with wedding cakes (and it applies here as well) can be found at my food page, Baking Delights. Because of the size of the wedding cake, and the weight of it I used dowels, however for this cake, straws will be fine.

• 2 1/3 c all purpose flour

• 1 c macadamia nuts
• sweetened flaked coconut

• 3/4 c finely chopped crystallized ginger

• 3 1/2 tsp Pensey's korintje cassia cinnamon

• 1 tsp ginger

• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 c sugar

• 1 c vegetable oil or coconut oil
• 4 large eggs

• 2 tsp organic vanilla
• 2 c finely grated, peeled carrots

• 2 Tbs finely grated fresh ginger

• 2 8 oz cans crushed pineapple well drained.

To Make Cake:

Preheat oven to 350.

Grease three 9″ round cake pans and line with parchment.

Combine 1/3 c flour, coconut, macadamias, and crystallized ginger in a food processor and process until the macadamia nuts are finely chopped.

Mix the remaining flour, baking soda, salt, spices, and baking powder in a bowl to blend.

Combine the carrot, pineapple,and fresh ginger.

In an electric mixer beat the sugar and oil.

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing each in thoroughly.

Beat in vanilla and then the flour-spice mixture.

Stir in macadamia mixture and then pineapple, carrot, grated ginger mixture.

Divide batter evenly among pans.

Bake until tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Let cool in pans for one hour. Run knife around edge to loosen cakes and turn out.

Let cool completely.

Store overnight for the flavors to develop.

The frosting for this cake is unusually rich and cream, with a coconut flavor that comes from the coco lopez (cream of coconut)

24 oz cream cheese

1 c unsalted butter

2 2/3 c powdered sugar

1 c sweetened cream of coconut like coco lopez

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp coconut extract

1 tbs Monin Macadamia nut syrup

Beat the cream cheese and butter on highest spead of the mixer, in the mixing bowl until smooth. Beat in the powdered sugar, and then the Coco Lopez (cream of coconut ). Add both of the extracts and the Monin macadamia nut syrup.

Chill until firm enough to spread, about half an hour.

Follow the directions on How to Make A Layer Cake for assemblingg a cake.