I really wanted to make my Mom's birthday special this year...and, I thought bake. Yes. So I found this super simple and amazing original recipe for carrot cake (https://www.nelliebellie.com/best-homemade-carrot-cake-recipe/).

We try to stay away from processed sugar and bad-for-you ingredients over here, so I replaced many of the original ingredients with more natural, healthier alternatives like coconut sugar, Organic products, and Xylitol (which is a natural sweetener that tastes actually really really good). It was the first cake...first bake...I've made without Mom present (how did that happen). I was a little nervous, since it was the day before her birthday and I wanted it to be...to not be a complete failure *laughs at me*.

And it turned out delicious.



As you see I added coconut flakes to the top; if your not a coconut-flake person, you can just leave 'em off (I did not include it in the recipe card). The pecans also went amazing with the cream cheese buttercream frosting, and there are some ground crumbs on top as well.


The curled carrots on top were a bit of a funny task; I just peeled a few (or 10) pieces, rolled them starting small end up, and speared them through with a toothpick. Then I let them sit for around 21 hours in a sealed container of ice water in the fridge. 
I took out the toothpick and pulled each end of the curl away from each other. Most of them flopped; if I was to try it again I think I would let them chill longer and peel thicker pieces.



I want to add a note here that the amount of baking time depends on the size of your cake pans. I was using 10" round ones so my time was not as long as the original recipe. Just check on it and test it with a knife or toothpick to make sure it isn't wet before you pull it out.

*note...I used all organic ingredients for this cream cheese buttercream