Carrot Cake with Pineapple and Coconut

I originally posted this special family recipe for Carrot Cake with Pineapple and Coconut in May of 2022. It is the perfect dessert if you are still searching for something special to finish your Easter celebration!

For the Love of Carrot Cake:

My love affair with carrot cake started when I was very young. So young in fact that I cannot remember the very first time I ate it. There is something about the marriage of that moist, spice-filled center paired with tangy, sweet cream cheese frosting that has me totally addicted. I love it so much that it is what I request for every birthday and there was absolutely no debate when it came to our wedding cake.

Quest for the Best:

I have made it my life-long quest to find the best carrot cake. So far, my top restaurant contender is from a very surprising place called Taco Temple in Morrow Bay, CA. Yes, I said Taco Temple, and by the way they also have amazing fish tacos.

Their carrot cake caught me completely by surprise several years ago when my mom and I stumbled upon this place during a road trip. It is literally the poster child for carrot cake and anytime I am within 50 miles of that city I make it my mission to stop for a piece of this stuff. Be sure to go early in the day and reserve one right when you get there because it does sell out.

Unfortunately, I cannot drive 400 miles round trip when I am craving a piece of carrot cake. Over the years, I have collected and tried several recipes. So, as you can imagine, I was delighted to find a family recipe in the book my mom gave me. There were actually two recipes in the book but this one looked a bit easier and more along the lines of the ones I love.

My Family's Version:

This version was passed down from my grandfather's cousin's wife. The only changes I made were to add some golden raisins, shredded coconut, and a little bit of salt. I would have also added nuts but the family doesn't like them, so I left them out. The recipe is pretty straight forward - mix the wet ingredients, mix the dry ingredients, combine the two then fold in the pineapple and coconut. The most time-consuming part is grating the carrots, but if you do this ahead of time you can take this from bowl to oven in 10 minutes or less.

I surprised my mom with this wonderful treat Mother's Day week-end. We all agreed it is our favorite homemade version!

Print Pin

Carrot Cake with Pineapple and Coconut

Our family classic is loaded with carrots, pineapple, coconut, and raisins with a traditional cream cheese frosting.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword Banana Pancakes, Carrot Cake, Coconut, Coconut Cake, Cream Cheese, Cream Cheese Frosting, Pineapple, Pineapple Cake

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Servings 12

Equipment

• 1 9 x 13 inch baking pan
• 1 Medium-sized bowl
• 1 Large Bowl
• 1 sifter
• 1 hand or stand mixer you could also do this by hand with a heavy whisk
• 1 large spoon or spatula

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 2 c. flour
• ¾ t. nutmeg
• ¾ t. allspice
• ½ t. salt
• 1 ½ t. cinnamon
• 2 t. baking soda
• 2 c. sugar
• 1 c. sunflower oil
• 3 eggs
• 1 t. vanilla divided
• 1 c. crushed pineapple lightly drained
• 2 c. finely shredded carrots 5-6 medium sized
• ¾ c. sweetened flaked coconut
• ¾ c. golden raisins
• ½ c. of finely chopped pecans or walnuts optional

For the Frosting

• 1 8 oz. package of light cream cheese - softened
• ½ c. of softened butter
• ½ box of powdered sugar 8 oz.
• ½ t. vanilla
• ¼ t. salt

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 X 11 inch pan with butter or a neutral oil such as sunflower or coconut.
• In medium-sized bowl sift together the flour, spices, salt and baking soda.
• In a large bowl beat together the sugar, oil, eggs, and 1 t. vanilla until light and fluffy.
• Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir to ensure everything is combined. Fold in the pineapple, then the coconut, raisins, and nuts if using them.
• Pour the cake batter in the pan and spread it to make sure it is evenly distributed. Bake the cake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean. If it starts to get too brown on top you can cover it loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil.
• While the cake is cooling, mix together the cream cheese, butter, salt, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add in the powered sugar and mix to incorporate. Once the cake is fully cooled, cover the top with the frosting.

Notes

You could also bake this in two 9-inch cake rounds. Grease each pan as per above but also fit with a round of parchment paper in the bottom of each and grease that as well. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Once cooled, run a knife around the sides of each pan, turn out of the pan, and remove the parchment paper. Frost as you would a regular layer cake.