Moist and tender and chock full of good things! This carrot cake recipe has all the flavors you want without the commitment of a 9" double layer cake. Perfect for smaller groups.
Preheat the oven to 375°. Spray an 8" square baking pan (I used glass) with vegetable spray. Line the the baking pan with a piece of parchment paper cut to the same dimensions as the bottom of the pan. Set aside.
Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and mace to a medium bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.
In a large bowl combine the brown sugar, sugar, eggs, vegetable oil and vanilla bean paste. Whisk to combine.
Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ones and mix until all the flour mixture has been absorbed. Stir in the carrots, pineapple, coconut, raisins and walnuts. Mix well and transfer to the prepared baking dish.
Bake the cake for 40-50 minutes or until a cake tester poked in the center of the cake comes out clean with no batter or crumbs attached.
Let the cake cool in the pan for about 20 minutes, then turn it out onto a cooling rack to cool to room temperature.
You can frost the cake (after it has cooled to room temperature) I recommend the classic cream cheese frosting on this site) or just dust with powdered sugar. A plain piece of cake with a scoop of good vanilla ice cream or whipped cream would be very good too.