Carrot Cake

I like to read recipes and what people have to say about them. The other day I read this about a carrot cake, "the best carrot cake ever" in fact...Ok that is her opinion but when I read what all was in it I thought "well it sounds really good so I will try it." NOW, I do try to make the recipe the way it is writtten so that if I don't like it I can consider what changes I could make. So I made it her way, minus the walnuts because had I put them in I may not be around to tell you about this cake...I used pecans. The one ingredient I did not have on hand out here in the country was canned crushed pineapple but I had some fresh cut up that I processed and used. Probably better anyway. Ok so the one ingredient that made me go "EHHH" was coconut...I don't like it in things. It's a texture thing. Don't judge me. BUT I had some so I put it in. I will not do that again. I just don't like it no matter how small I process it. That said the cake is good. 

I will, in the future, do some things differently: NO coconut; replace the 1 cup of vegetable oil with 1/2 cup natural applesauce and 1/2 cup coconut oil (Oh wait I did do that in this cake...sorry I didn't make it exactly like her.) or 1 cup of applesauce; probably eliminate the nuts all together (again texture...) and I may back off on the 4 teaspoons of cinnamon but again that is a personal preference thing. I will very finely grate the carrots and then process them to make them cook through better. This is a dense, moist cake and it is definately better the next day.

Side note: I have failed at cream cheese icing more times than I have succeeded. I keep trying. It tastes fine it just doesn't have the stiffness I am looking for. I think I made it once and got it perfect...wish I could remember what I did. The recipe was hilarious because I am sure that it was written in a foreign language and Google translated to English. At one point it says, when talking about testing with a toothpick, "A toothpick will confess all out when done." I may start to use that phrase...

Well, that is my little review on carrot cake. Go read some recipes and entertain yourself.