Carrot Cake

I've had many mediocre versions of carrot cake in restaurants over the past ten years, and none of them have come close to my mom's Joy of Cooking version. It turns out that hers is the only reason why carrot cake is my favorite. Without that recipe this weekend, I had to go to the internet. The recipe I found is from the web, and I made it last night and made a lot of people happy.

Super Moist Carrot Cake

2 c all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or allspice and nutmeg)
4 eggs
1 1/2 c vegetable oil (I used 1 1/4)
2 c white sugar
2 3/4 c shredded or grated carrots (I did mine in the food processor)
1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained
3/4 c chopped walnuts
1 c flaked coconut plus a little more for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9" x 13" pan, or two 8 1/2" cake pans.

Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the sugar, oil and eggs together to mix well. Beat in the flour mixture little by little. Stir in the shredded carrots, crushed pineapple, chopped nuts and flaked coconut. Pour into pan(s). Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the centers no longer look liquid and jiggly. A toothpick should come out clean and dry. With two cakes you can make a nice two layer cake. Allow to cool before frosting with:

Cream Cheese Icing (based on Joy of Cooking recipe)

1 8 oz package cream cheese
3 T milk
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

Sift together the sugar and cinnamon. Set aside. In a medium bowl, cream together the milk and cream cheese until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add a touch more milk if necessary, but be careful: The only thing you can do to make the icing thicker is to add more cheese. Beat in the vanilla. Add the sugar a little at a time and stir until it is smooth.