Three-layer coconut carrot cake with swirls of Nutella and Dulce de Leche

My attempt at a three-layered coconut carrot cake with layers of Nutella and Dulce de Leche in between. All the flavors in this are so good - the cake is so moist - the walnuts are crunchy, the Nutella and Dulce de Leche burst in your mouth, and the buttercream brings it all together. You can also half the recipe and make the the cake without icing - it is great on its own, and fewer calories ;)

Makes a three-layered 8 or 9 inch cake. Approximately 8 generous servings.

Ingredients

Coconut carrot cake

• 3 cups self-rising flour (or all-purpose flour)

• 1 ½ tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1 ¼ tsp cinnamon

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 ½ cups melted coconut oil

• ¾ cup buttermilk (I made this myself by combining ¾ cup milk with 1 tbsp lemon juice and let sit for 5 minutes to curdle)

• 3 eggs room

• 1 1/3 cup granulated sugar

• ½ cup light brown sugar

• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

• 2 cups grated carrots

• 1 cup desiccated coconut

• ½-1 cup chopped walnuts

• 2-4 tbsp Nutella (optional)

• 2-4 tbsp Dulce de Leche (optional)

Icing

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

• 4 ounces cream cheese

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 2-3 cups powdered sugar

• Desiccated coconut and walnuts, for topping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Grease three 8 or 9-inch round cake tins and line with parchment paper, then grease paper with butter. I highly recommend using parchment paper because carrot cake is really sticky and is hard to get out of pans otherwise (especially without the cake falling apart).

2. In a bowl, beat together oil, buttermilk, and eggs. Once combined, add brown sugar, white sugar, and vanilla extract. Add carrots and coconut and combine well – then add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix until combined and make sure there are no clumps of flour!

3. Pour the batter in the cake tins and bake for 25-30 minutes or when a knife comes out clean after poking it in the middle of cake or until it is no longer wiggly in the middle (I did about 25 minutes).

4. Once cooked through, remove from the oven and let it cool for 5-10 minutes. Then run a knife around the edges of the pan and turn the cakes onto a clean surface or cooling rack. Let the cakes cool for 30-45 minutes or until room temperature to assemble.

5. To make the frosting, take butter (must be at room temperature) and mix to combine with cream cheese and vanilla. Once combined, sieve the powdered sugar one cup at a time. Mix until creamy and well combined – you can add the third cup of powdered sugar to thicken the frosting and sweeten the frosting as desired (I did about 2 ½ cups).

6. To assemble the three-layer cake, place the first cake layer on a large plate. Spread Nutella over the cake and then add frosting to the cake (I do this by adding one large tbsp at a time).

7. Add the second layer and spread with Dulce de Leche then frosting. Also make sure to add frosting to the sides of the cake as well, spreading it evenly with a spatula.

8. Add the final layer of cake and add a generous amount of frosting and spread evenly across the outside and sides of the cake until its covered and the frosting is evenly spread. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes to one hour before serving. Decorate with desiccated coconut, cake crumbs and chopped walnuts.

Adapted from: Half Baked Harvest - halfbakedharvest.com/coconut-carrot-cake/