I have yet to find my perfect carrot cake.  The bakery I worked for had the best one, but I don't have the recipe.  I do know that in addition to the carrots,  they used pineapple and coconut and pecans.  It was awesome.  I've tried a couple of versions of recipes that call for those ingredients but something is just not right.  One was way too sweet...the other not so much...in fact it was almost savory IMO. 

Sooo...one of my questions is geared to those that put pineapple in their carrot cake.  Do you use the pineapple in heavy syrup or the kind in just juice?  (I drain the juice.)

I've noticed when I use coconut, it can taste a little too coconut-y  so I am going to try some unsweetened.  Any thoughts on that?

Spices.  Some recipes call for just cinnamon...some for nutmeg and ginger, allspice and even cloves.  I'm kind of leery of using just cinnamon but sometimes the other spices take over.   Is there a perfect combo? Or is cinnamon enough spice.   (I haven't gone the cinnamon only route yet)

I am leaning towards  using brown sugar (like 1/2 cup brown with 1 1/2 cup white sugar.  I saw a few recipes like this and thought that might add some depth of flavor.   The recipe I'm looking at trying only calls for white sugar...would using the brown affect the texture of the cake if it's not part of the original recipe?

So in essence I want a carrot cake that has a spicy flavor, moist (but not too moist) not sickly sweet, with pineapple and coconut enhancing the flavor but not taking it over.

Any suggestions?  

Thanks!

ADefinitely use the Brown sugar it really brings out the cinnamon xx

AI have what I think is seriously The Best Ever carrot cake. That is so subjective. I do not use pineapple or coconut. I do use pineapple in my hummingbird & I use the kind in 100% juice.

One of the tricks in my carrot is that I soak the raisins in makers mark. That way they are nice & plump not dry & hard.

I also use part brown sugar & part white. The brown sugar will change the texture. It makes I softer. That's not really the right word but I can't think I another.

I use cinnamon, nutmeg, & cloves. I want it to taste like a spice cake but not SPICE cake. Mostly cinnamon, some nutmeg, tiny cloves.

Hth

I am just a hobby baker . But I have been told by many that I have the best carrot cake . I do use coconut and shredded pineapple . But people never guess those ingredients . I think one thing that makes a good carrot cake is the cream cheese icing. I do not make mine over sweet but by adding enough powdered sugar that it still has a tangy taste and maybe a tiny bit of lemon flavoring to it . I also use chopped pecans but never raisins.

AThanks for the input everyone. Cakery2012 yours sounds like the carrot cake the bakery I worked at served.I knew they put the pineapple and coconut in it but the flavor wasn't overpowered by those ingredients. Do you use other seasonings besides cinnamon? And is the pineapple in juice or heavy syrup? I guess I'm just interested i your recipe...would you mind sharing?

I also don't use coconut or pineapple, (pineapple is  a bad allergy for me, can't even handle it), but it's one of my most requested cakes.

I use pureed mango, cinnamon/nutmeg/cardamom/ginger, chopped currants that have soaked in rum and toasted pecans.

The mango gives it a similar sweetness like you would get from pineapple, and the cardamom and ginger give it a an extra kick. I'm pretty liberal with the ginger, I also add a pinch of pepper.

To me, pineapple and coconut is hummingbird cake.

AMe too!

AOh I didn't mean that snarky...just wanted to share some love with Srumdiddly.

A

Wow...your carrot cake sounds really interesting...I don't ever remember seeing a recipe with those ingredients. Is it your own creation? No wonder it's so requested!

I really like Martha Stewart's fresh ginger carrot cake.  It has grated carrots and pecans, and a wonderful flavor. It is not easy to mince fresh ginger, so I put a chunk of it in my mini processor which works great.   I too prefer carrot cake with pineapple and always add 3/4 cup crushed canned pineapple (juice packed type and well drained).  If I don't have crushed on hand, I process the chunk style and drain. It is less dense and heavy than the old traditional carrot cake that I grew up with, and is really good.  It has no coconut, but could probably be added.  I am a big coconut fan, but I don't think it needs it. The recipe calls for both  ginger and cinnamon.  The fresh ginger gives it a really nice flavor, but it is not overpowering.