Ooh, if you love coconut and chocolate then this is the recipe for you. It’s not only sweet but it’s decadent too. I wouldn’t mind seeing this on some restaurant menu.

3/4 c. cocoa
1 1/2 c. milk
1 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. soda
3/4 c. brown sugar
2/3 c. shortening
3 eggs
2 c. cake flour, sifted
1 tsp. baking powder

Measure and sift cocoa and brown sugar together. Add milk gradually, stir until smooth. Cream shortening, add sugar and eggs. Sift flour, baking powder, soda and salt together. Add to creamed mixture, alternately with the cocoa mixture. Add vanilla and beat until smooth. Pour into 2 (9 inch) cake pans and bake at 350 degrees about 30 minutes. When cool, spread with boiled icing. Spread thickly with coconut before icing sets.

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My husband loves carrot cake and this is one of his favorites.  I remember being given a recipe for carrot cake when I was a teenager.  I made the cake and it was very good, but my baby sister ate so much of it that she threw up. To this day she refuses to eat carrot cake.

Active Time: 30 Minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour 10 Minutes 16 servings

INGREDIENTS
For the Cake:
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour (see Ingredient note)
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup nonfat buttermilk
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 20-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained, juice reserved
2 cups grated carrots (4-6 medium)
1/4 cup unsweetened flaked coconut
For the Frosting:
2 tablespoons coconut chips or flaked coconut
12 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Ingredient Note:
Whole-wheat pastry flour is milled from soft wheat. It contains less gluten than regular whole-wheat flour and helps ensure a tender result in delicate baked goods while providing the nutritional benefits of whole grains. Available in large supermarkets and in natural-foods stores. Store in the freezer.

DIRECTIONS
To prepare cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Toast walnuts in a small baking pan in the oven until fragrant, 5 to 10 minutes.

Whisk flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Whisk eggs, sugar, buttermilk, oil, vanilla and 1/4 cup of the reserved pineapple juice in a large bowl until blended. Stir in pineapple, carrots and coconut. Add the dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula just until blended. Stir in the nuts. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly.

Bake the cake until the top springs back when touched lightly and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

To prepare frosting & finish cake: Place coconut in a small baking pan and toast in the oven at 300 degrees F, stirring several times, until light golden, 5 to 10 minutes.

Beat cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and vanilla in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Spread the frosting over the cooled cake. Sprinkle with the coconut.

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INGREDIENTS
3 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 cups ground almonds
2 Macintosh apples – peeled, cored and finely chopped
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
3 tablespoons unsweetened apple butter
2 tablespoons frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9 inch square baking pan.
Beat the eggs until they drop like ribbons from the beaters. Continue beating and add the oil in a thin stream. Beat in the 1 cup applesauce and the 1 cup unsweetened apple juice concentrate.
Beat in the flour gradually until well blended. Add the baking soda, ground ginger, ground almonds and apples, mix to combine.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 40 minutes or until the cake tests done. Let cake cool on a rack for 15 minutes before turning out of pan. Cool completely before frosting.
Carefully slice the cake in half horizontally with a long serrated knife. Fill and frost with Apple Butter Frosting.

To Make Apple Butter Frosting: Beat the cream cheese until soft and fluffy. Gradually beat in the apple butter and remaining 2 tablespoons apple juice concentrate.

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• Ingredients:
  2 cups raisins
  3 cups water
  2 eggs
  3 tablespoons liquid sweetener
  3/4 cup vegetable oil
  1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt
  1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  2 cups all-purpose flour
  1 cup chopped walnuts
  1 cup unsweetened applesauce

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 10 inch bundt or tube pan.
2. In a saucepan combine raisins with water and cook until the water is absorbed, cool.
3. Combine eggs, applesauce, vegetable oil, vanilla, and liquid sweetener. Mix well. Sift flour, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg into egg mixture. Stir until just combined. Mix in raisins and chopped nuts. Pour batter into prepared pan.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for one hour.

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