Carrot Cake

Ingredients

• 3 cups unbleached flour all-purpose
• 2 cups sugar 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1 tablespoon baking soda 
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon 
• 1.5 cups olive oil 
• 4 large eggs lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 
• 1.5 cups walnuts shelled chopped
• 1.5 cups coconut or shredded sweetened
• 2 cups carrots finely grated
• 1 cup pineapple crushed drained
• 12 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
• 9 tablespoons butter unsalted room temperature
• 3.8 cups powdered sugar 
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract 
• 3 tablespoons juice of lemon 
• 12 servings extra whole chopped for topping

Equipment

• bowl
• baking paper
• oven
• knife
• wire rack
• hand mixer
• toothpicks
• stand mixer
• wax paper

Directions

1. Preheat oven and prepare cake pans: Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter two 9-inch cake pans.
2. Cut out rounds of parchment paper and place at bottoms of cake pans. Butter the top of the wax paper rounds.
3. Make carrot cake batter: Sift dry ingredients into a bowl.
4. Add oil, eggs, and vanilla. Beat well. Fold in chopped walnuts, coconut, carrots and pineapple.
5. Pour batter into pans. Set on the middle rack of oven and bake at 350°F for 45-50 minutes (shift positions of cakes front-to-back if necessary about halfway through), until edges have pulled away from sides and a toothpick or sharp knife tip inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
6. completely on a wire cooling rack.
7. Make cream cheese frosting: In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or using hand mixers, beat together the cream cheese and butter. Slowly sift in the powdered sugar and beat until mixture is free of lumps. Stir in vanilla and lemon juice.
8. Frost and decorate the cake: Once cakes have cooled, remove from the pans and frost.
9. Sprinkle top with chopped walnuts or arrange walnut halves in a crown around the top.