My Favorite Cooking Light Carrot Cake

I found this recipe on myrecipe.com and saw that it had the most and the highest rated reviews. I was glad I gave it a shot, the cake was the best carrot cake I've made. It was flavorful and moist. I threw raisins into the mix as well and used my Favorite Cream Cheese frosting recipe. Which I will put on a separate post.

• Ready In: 50 mins
• Serves: 16
• Yields: 16 slices

Ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 cups all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces)
• 1 1⁄3 cups granulated sugar
• 1⁄2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
• 1⁄3 cup  chopped pecans
• 2  teaspoons baking soda
• 1  teaspoon salt
• 2  teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3  tablespoons canola oil
• 2  large eggs
• 2  cups  grated carrots
• 1 1⁄2 cups  canned crushed pineapple, drained

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. To prepare cake, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, coconut, pecans, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Combine oil and eggs; stir well. Stir egg mixture, grated carrot, and pineapple into flour mixture. Spoon batter into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.
3. To prepare frosting, combine butter and cream cheese in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla just until smooth. Spread frosting over top of cake. Garnish each serving with grated carrot, if desired.