Fantastic 3-layer Carrot Cake

Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins Preparation Time: 40 mins Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

• 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 2/3 cups finely shredded carrots
• 3/4 cup flaked coconut
• 1 1/4 cups walnuts, chopped
• 1 (10 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 1/2-4 cups powdered sugar

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 350 degrees. grease and flour three 8" or 9" round cake pans.
• 2 mix flour, baking soda and powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice. make a well in the center. add sugar, oil, applesauce, egg, and vanilla. mix until just smooth; do not overmix.
• 3 use a food processor or blender to puree pineapple. stir pineapple, walnuts, and coconut into batter. pour into pans.
• 4 bake 35-40 minutes. use a toothpick to make sure the centers are cooked through.
• 5 cool on baking racks. the centers may sink a little.
• 6 once thoroughly cooled, level the cakes. you may want to freeze them for a few minutes to make icing them easier.
• 7 mix butter and cream cheese until smooth, and add the powdered sugar. start with 3 1/2 c and add more if necessary.
• 8 place the cake layers cut side down to frost. if you have problems with the cake crumbling, put it back in the freezer until it's harder.