My new favorite carrot cake is this layer cake with shredded beets added in, plus whipped cream cheese frosting (obvs!). This was SO good and is on the top of my cake list now!
Preheat oven to 350˚F. In a large bowl with a whisk, add coconut oil and sugars. (Note: If your coconut oil is solid, microwave it in 10 second bursts to melt it). Whisk together until smooth and then add eggs and vanilla. (You can substitute vegetable oil for the coconut oil.)
In a separate bowl, whisk together dry ingredients except carrot and beets. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and whisk until combined. When combined, fold in the shredded carrots and beets and chopped pecans (optional). If batter is very thick and not pourable, add more milk by the tablespoon to loosen the batter.
Butter and flour two 8-inch round cake pans. Divide batter between two 8 inch round cake pans. Shake pans to distribute batter evenly. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a tester comes out clean from the center.
Let cakes cool completely before removing from pan and frosting.
To make frosting, add butter and cream cheese to a mixer with paddle attachment or with a hand mixer and beat until smooth and creamy. Then add vanilla and add powdered sugar in 1 cup batches. Mix together until smooth. Use immediately.
To ice the cake, remove one cake from the pan and turn upside down on a cake pan (this just helps with the flat side up for easier frosting and layering). If the cake has a large dome on it, you might want to trim off some of the dome to make it flat (use a serrated knife).
Add about a 1/4-inch thick layer of frosting to the cake then top with second cake. Frost generously on all sides.
Serve cake immediately or store in the fridge. The cake keeps well for 4-5 days. It’s best if you can let it come to room temperature before serving, but it’s also fine right out of the fridge.
If you don’t have two round cake pans, you can bake the batter in a 9×13 pan. Bake at 350˚F for 35-40 minutes until a tester comes out clean from the center. Frost generously once cool.