Chocolate Carrot Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Icing

Every year at work we have around Valentine's Day a little ritual called Secret Pals, where you draw the name of a co-worker and spoil them all week with little gifts. At the end of the week you serve them with their favourite dessert and reveal your identity to them. One year I had someone who loved carrot cake so I wanted to give him something a little different so I looked through my cookbooks and found this recipe, which is a bit different than my usual carrot cake recipes. He absolutely loved it (and so did my husband!)

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 12-16
• Yields: 1 cake

Ingredients

• CAKE

• 1 1⁄2 cups  sifted all-purpose flour
• 3⁄4 cup  unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1  teaspoon baking soda
• 1⁄4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1  pinch allspice
• 1⁄2 cup  chopped walnuts, toasted
• 1⁄2 cup raisins
• 1⁄3 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 3  eggs
• 3⁄4 cup  packed brown sugar
• 3⁄4 cup granulated sugar
• 3⁄4 cup  vegetable oil
• 4  ounces  semisweet chocolate, melted
• 3  cups  grated carrots

• ICING

• 1⁄2 lb cream cheese
• 1⁄4 lb  semisweet chocolate, melted
• 2  cups  sifted icing sugar

Directions

1. CAKE: In a bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg and allspice; stir in walnuts, raisins and coconut.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs; gradually blend in the brown and granulated sugars.
3. Add oil; beat in chocolate.
4. Stir in carrots.
5. Add flour mixture all at once, mixing just until evenly combined.
6. Line a greased 13 x 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper or waxed paper.
7. Grease the paper.
8. Pour the batter into the pan and bake in a 325 degree F oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched and cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan.
9. Let cool.
10. TO MAKE ICING: Meanwhile, in a bowl, beat cream cheese until light; beat in chocolate.
11. Gradually beat in the sugar; cover and chill in the refrigerator for 30 to 60 minutes or until spreadable.
12. Spread over the cooled cake.