Things have changed a lot since I first started blogging. In the beginning, I really just blogged what I ate. That is still mostly true – especially when it comes dinners. But in the beginning, if there was a holiday, I would blog about that holiday food after the holiday. It’s kind of silly now that I think about it, because who wants a flag cake the day after the 4th of July?? But that’s how I did it. And I think that’s how a lot of bloggers did it back then.
Today, I try to actually give you some holiday food ideas before the actual holiday. Which sometimes means Thanksgiving dinner in October, but hey – I’m not complaining!! But I totally dropped the ball for St. Patrick’s Day this year. Not one single recipe posted here. (I did post some Irish Soda Bread Muffins on the Cafe Zupas blog, but that’s it.) I feel like the last few weeks have been so crazy that I didn’t even have time to stop and think about anything green.
So I made up my mind to get it together for Easter. Kind of. I have a couple Easter recipes for you this week – and yes, I’m pretty early!! But I celebrate my 6th blog birthday next week, and have some fun things working for that, and I wanted to get a few new Easter recipes to you before the holiday comes.
Up first – dessert!! My original plan was to try an Easter Pie recipe that I found, but then a few weeks ago, my mom made a carrot cake. It wasn’t anything fancy – just a regular old carrot cake from a box, cooked in a 9×13 pan, topped with cream cheese icing. It was dangerous. I kept eating “just one more little piece” until I had eaten way more than I should have. And when it was gone, I still couldn’t get carrot cake out of my head, so I had to make one.
I’m also a coconut lover – if you’ve been reading here for awhile, you will know that. And this thought came into my head to add toasted coconut to the top. It almost didn’t make it. Toasting coconut with 3 kids is not the easiest thing to do. The first batch went in, I got distracted, and it burned. The second batch went in and I got so distracted that it was in there for quite some time and turned completely black. Oops!! By the time I put the third batch in, I told myself that if I burned it again, I was going to scrap the whole toasted coconut thing. I put it in, stirred it after a few minutes, and stood and waited in front of the oven, determined to make it perfectly. And then something happened – I can’t remember what – but I walked away. When I ran back to the oven after remembering, the coconut was toasted more than I would normally toast it, but at least it wasn’t burned. So I went with it. So yeah – the coconut here is pretty toasty, but it was still delicious!! I think I’ll be adding coconut to all of my carrot cakes from here on out!
This cake is perfect to feed a crowd, and what says Easter more than Carrot Cake? It’s easy and not fussy (except that darn coconut) and the perfect way to end a great meal!
- 2 cups sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1½ cups grated carrots
- ½ cup sweetened coconut
- 1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, at room temperature
- ½ cup butter, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup toasted coconut
- Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 15x10x1-inch sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, vegetable oil and applesauce. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating between each addition. Add in the vanilla.
- In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir into the wet mixture. Add in the buttermilk and stir just to combine. Fold in the carrots and coconut.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared sheet pan and bake in the oven until a toothpick comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely.
- To make the icing, beat together the cream cheese and butter. Beat in the vanilla. Add in the powdered sugar ½ cup at a time and beat until smooth and creamy. Pour over the cooled cake and spread evenly.
- Top cake with the toasted coconut.
More Easter Dessert Ideas:
Easter Egg Marshmallow Truffles
From Around the Web:
Better Than Easter Carrot Cake Poke Cake from Something Swanky
Lemon Berry Trifle from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Inside Out Carrot Cake Cookies from Sweet Treats and More
Deliciously coconutty!
Cheers,
Rosa
@Rosa, I do love my coconut!
I LOVE carrot cake and love that you used oil not butter in this cake (for extreme moistness) & an abundance of carrots, applesauce, and buttermilk. Holy soft & tenderness! Can only imagine what cooking with THREE little ones is like. And blogging after the holiday…yeah it only took me 2 yrs to start figuring out to do it BEFORE. lol
I love toasted coconut for baked goodies! And I also love carrot cake! Thanks for a great Easter idea before the holiday… I always have the best intentions of doing holiday recipes beforehand, but I rarely do. Oh well. 🙂
@Colleen @ What’s Baking in the Barbershop?!, it’s hard to keep on top of the holidays when it seems like there is always one coming up!
I’m the same way…now I really try to be conscious of posting recipes before the actual holiday even if that means not posting what I actually ate on that holiday until the next year! I had an easter recipe fail last night (pie crust got moldy in the fridge overnight. Literally.) so now I need to start over. I think something carrot cake and coconut sounds awesome!
@Joanne, it’s never fun to have a recipe fail – especially when there is mold involved!
My husband would adore this. Honestly I don’t blame you for letting St Patty’s day be forgotten, it’s so easy to do.
@Rachel @ Baked by Rachel, I guess it does seem like there is always a holiday coming – and if I had to skip a holiday, St. Patrick’s day wasn’t a bad one to skip!
Oh LAWWWWD count me in x a trillion.
@Bev @ Bev Cooks, sending a slice your way!
This is a perfect dessert for the holidays!
@Jen @ Savory Simple, I think it would be perfect for Easter – or for any day, for that matter!
I love a dangerous cake!
@Barbara @ Barbara Bakes, I’m just glad I didn’t set the house on fire!
I’d like two slices please : )
@Paula – bell’alimento, I’m pretty sure I had more than 2! 😉
Love the toasted coconut!
@Jessica@AKitchenAddiction, it was my favorite part!!
What a beautiful and fantastic recipe!! Love everything you posted. 🙂
@Amanda, thanks so much – I love how simple a sheet cake is, but everyone loves them!
That cake looks incredible! I would love a slice. Sometimes I post on my blog whatever I felt like making that turned out so well I want to share and other times I try to plan. It all just depends.
@Laura Dembowski, I’m the same – I try to plan, but most of the time I post whatever I’m making normally.
Gorgeous! I love sheet cakes – they’re so much easier to frost than a cake! And that coconut on top looks like perfection!
No worries on St. Patty’s Day – I kind of forget about the holidays until it happens!
@Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious, I know – I’m totally loving sheet cakes lately!!
As a fellow coconut lover, I couldn’t be more excited about the prospect of this cake! It sounds beyond amazing! As for food holidays, these days I often fall into the trap of making things in advance for the blog, and then when the actual holiday rolls around I don’t make anything for my husband 🙂
@Tracey, yay for coconut lovers!!
Looks wonderful, and yes I totally did the same thing with holidays. haha!
@carrian, my poor kids don’t even know when holidays are anymore, I’ve got them so confused!
I was planning on carrot cake for Easter anyway… now I have juuust the recipe to use!
@Julia, I wasn’t originally planning carrot cake, but I’ll be having it now!
Totally going to make this. Carrot cake is my hubby’s fave!
@Emily, your husband has good taste! 🙂
my hat seriously goes off to you blog studs that get out your amazing recipes ahead of time. i always plan to have holiday recipes, but it hasn’t happened yet. i just might start posting stuff that i made LAST year, haha!
i LOVE this cake, the coconut really sets it over the edge.
@teresa, well, I try, but I don’t always succeed!
I want to make this immediately. It’s gorgeous.
@Kim Bee, thanks so much! I want to make another one already. 🙂
I love your toasted coconut topping!
@Laura (Tutti Dolci), thanks – I have a thing for coconut!
I adore carrot cake and the Easter bunny definitely approves…will have to try to toasted coconut topping next go round.
@Marjory, the toasted coconut definitely makes it stand out a bit!
I want some now!!!!! I love that it’s a sheet cake too. I’m sometimes clumsy with layer cakes.
@Julie @ Sugarfoot Eats, I am so with you on that – I’m not very good at layer cakes. I love the simplicity of a sheet cake!
This looks delicious! And simple which I love 🙂
I love the combination of carrot cake and coconut!! Love this!
I have a love for carrot cake and toasted coconut so needless to say i’m excited to give this recipe a try 🙂
I am also a coconut lover!! All of your recipes in this post look scrumptious for easter. I may try the poke cake or lemon chess pie!
Six years? That’s amazing! And I laughed at your story of the coconut. That’s exactly the kind of thing I’d do.
the increased presence of carrot cake is my favorite part about easter, food-wise. this is a great idea, and i’m glad the coconut made it. 🙂
This looks incredible!!
I admire how frequently you post and how you truly accommodate your readers as much as possible. You’re amazing, plain and simple. 😀
I absolutely love coconut in my carrot cake! Toasted coconut, even better! That lemon poke cake looks wonderful, too, and I just picked up a bag of Meyer lemons. Too many desserts, too little time!
This carrot cake looks so delicious –will definitely have to try!
I made this carrot cake on Sunday and it was absolutely wonderful! I followed the directions to a tee! Thank you!!!
@Denise, yay! I’m glad it was a hit!
I made this for Easter and it was delicious!
@Theresa G, I’m so glad you loved it!! Thanks!
i toasted coconut for the first time recently and it was fun. this would be a nice addition to carrot cake!
That’s quite an attractive carrot cake! Pinned!
Made it yesterday, love it!