by Kathy Hamman Miller
Serve this carrot cake recipe with the delicious coconut topping, either for a breakfast or as a casual dessert. Puts a new twist on frosting for sure. Not overly sweet tasting, this satisfying treat is great to start your day or to end a meal.
Makes a 9-inch square cake or a dozen muffins. Double the recipe if needed using a 9×13 size cake pan.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
Butter and flour your cake pan, or line your muffin tin with paper liners.
For the carrot cake of Muffins:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup butter softened
1/2 cup crushed pineapple moist but strained
1 cup sugar
1 cup shredded carrots
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg in a medium bowl. Stir in the nuts to the flour mixture. By doing this, the nuts won’t sink to the bottom of the cake while baking. Another piece of “Grandma” advice I still find helpful.
Whisk the eggs, butter and sugar together in a large bowl. Stir in the carrots. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Place in greased and floured cake pan or for muffins, divide the batter among the muffin cups and bake until about 25 minutes for muffins and 35 minutes for cake, or when toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before adding the topping.
For the coconut topping:
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 large egg yolks
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened grated coconut
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
Combine the evaporated milk, sugar, egg yolks and butter in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture boils, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the coconut and vanilla. Let cool to room temperature adding the pecans in before spreading on the cake or muffins.
Enjoy!