Gluten-Free Carrot Cake with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray two 9-inch round baking pans with cooking spray and line it with parchment paper. Spray again.

In the bowl of your mixer with the paddle attachment, place the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon and combine well. Add the shredded carrots, pecans and raisins, and mix to combine.

In a separate, bowl, mix the eggs, oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and crushed pineapple in its juice, and combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and combine well. The batter will be loose and pourable.

Pour the batter, equally, into the prepared cake pans. Bake for about 35-50 minutes, or until golden brown all over and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with no more than a few moist crumbs attached.

Remove the pans from the oven and allow to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack. Cool completely before icing.

This recipe for the cake was adapted from the original by glutenfreeonashoestring.com.

While the cake is cooling, place the cream cheese and powdered sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium-low speed with a whisk attachment until smooth.

Pour the heavy cream in a slow and steady stream. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula frequently to avoid lumps.

When all the cream has been added, add the vanilla, turn the mixer up to medium-high and whip until the frosting holds stiff peaks.

This recipe for the frosting was adapted from the original by bakingamoment.com.

Frost the cake and then press the shredded coconut around the outside for garnish.

The entire family has been craving Carrot Cake ever since our favorite restaurant, The Hidden Valley Eatery, closed its doors last month. I found a great recipe by @glutenfreeonashoestring and added nuts to the batter. It worked great! I had no doubts because Nicole is an amazing baker.

The original cake's frosting was very fluffy, but still creamy. I found a whipped cream cheese frosting recipe by @bakingamoment and decided to give it a try. It was SUPER whipped and fluffy and not too sweet. The hubs loved it. I thought it was not creamy enough to be an exact duplicate of the original and might try a different recipe next time, BUT this frosting would be excellent on other baked goods for sure!

Was it exactly the same as we remembered? No, but it was still delicious and we devoured every last crumb. A few more modification and I think it will be spot on. Shucks, I am going to have to make a few more cakes, darn! LOL!