Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese-Lemon Zest Frosting

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons baking soda 
• 1.5 cups granulated sugar organic
• 0.8 cup canola oil organic
• 1 pound carrots organic peeled cut into 2-inch lengths (3 cups)
• 0.5 cup brown sugar 
• 3  eggs organic
• 1.5 cups flour organic all-purpose
• 0.5 tablespoon ginger fresh organic minced
• 0.5 cup golden raisins organic drained for 20 minutes and
• 2.3 teaspoons ground cinnamon organic
• 1 pinch nutmeg organic freshly grated
• 1 cup pineapple organic chopped
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 0.3 cup coconut flakes dried shredded unsweetened organic
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract organic
• 0.8 cup walnuts organic toasted chopped
• 0.5 cup pastry flour whole wheat organic

Equipment

• food processor
• bowl
• baking paper
• oven
• whisk
• wire rack

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 8-inchround cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper (to ensure that the cake will not stick), or place liners in 2 muffin pans for 24 cupcakes. Set aside.
2. Place the dried coconut in a cup of warm water to soften and set itaside for 15 minutes.
3. Place the carrots in a food processor and pulse on and off for1 minute. Then add the pineapple and pulse until the carrots are cutinto very small pieces and the pineapple is pureed, 1 to 2 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients.
5. Add the brownsugar and use a whisk to break up any lumps.
6. Drain the coconut and place it in a medium bowl.
7. Add the oil,vanilla extract, eggs, and carrot-pineapple mixture, and whisk tocombine.
8. Add the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing with a rubber spatulato incorporate but not overmix. When the batter is almost mixed,stir in the additions, if using.
9. Pour the batter into the preparedpans.
10. Bake for 55 minutes, or until the tops are a very golden brown and atester inserted in the center comes out clean. (It may look as if thecake is too well done, but it takes a while to bake because it's sodense.) For cupcakes, the baking time is 35 to 40 minutes.
11. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Then invert themonto a wire rack and let them cool completely.
12. Fill and frost the cake with the Cream Cheese-Lemon Zest Frosting (for added oomph, add 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh ginger to the frosting).
13. to decorate
14. Fill and frost the cake with cream cheese frosting and let chill. Tint 1/2 cup frosting lemon yellow, and use the 10 tip to pipe 5 dots in a circle to create simple buttercup flowers. Then combine any remainingyellow frosting with some additional cream cheese frosting andtint it leaf green. I use tip #67, which pipes small fern stems. Pipe thecenter stamen with cream cheese frosting and chill to set.
15. Reprinted with permission from Organic and Chic by Sarah Magid, (C) 2009 William Morrow