Ahh, spring – baby bunnies, tulips and olive oil carrot cake!
Even though spring can be not very warm and fuzzy here in Colorado, with hail, wind, lightning – it still makes me happy. I mean, baby bunnies!
I baby bunnies.
My husband, Cary, loves carrot cake and I wanted to make an extra special carrot cake for his birthday. This recipe is so good, the olive oil keeps the cake moist while the adding a subtle yet delish taste. Plus, olive oil is so much more healthy than the usual canola oil in many carrot cake recipes.
I try and use mostly all organic ingredients when cooking. The pesticides and antibiotics are definitely not something I want to include. Getting older is hard enough, we try to keep it going as smoothly (pun intended) as possible!
I am really loving the Frontier Co-Op spices. They have all the usual varieties like the cinnamon I used in this recipe, but they also have different varieties of cinnamon plus lots of exciting and exotic blends, like , Vindaloo Curry, Mexican Fiesta and Turmeric Twist. Such an easy way to add a healthy shake of deliciousness to your meal.
Simply Organic is also part of this membership co-op and one of their products is Organic Vanilla which I also used in this recipe.
OK, back to the olive oil carrot cake, butter and flour the two cake pans.
Sift and mix the dry ingredients in a separate large bowl. Combine the California Ranch EVOO, buttermilk, eggs, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla. Beat on low to medium until smooth with either a stand or hand mixer. Add the carrots and coconut. Add the dry ingredients a small portion at a time and beat on low until no clumps remain.
I made I made a light cream cheese frosting for just a semi-naked, rustic finish.
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