So good I had to throw away the last piece...

Periodically, I make something so good that I literally cannot keep myself from gobbling it up. It sits in the fridge or on the counter and calls my name with a voice so tempting and powerful that I ultimately have to throw it away because I just cannot be trusted to restrain myself. These sirens tend to be ooey gooey cakes, like Claire's cake or chocolate chip Passover pudding cake.

This Ginger Macadamia Coconut Carrot Cake from Vegan with a Vengeance landed in the bin tonight. I just couldn't take it anymore. Pictures and the recipe below...

Into the cake pans. In my baby oven, it took almost twice as long as the recipe called for to bake...

Daniel does his frosting magic

Notice his new glasses and the fact that he's doing the frosting on the coffee table, lest he miss a second of American Idol

Please note the undeniable ooey gooeyness

Here's how you too can drive yourself insane with deliciousness:

Ginger-Macadamia-Coconut-Carrot Cake

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground or freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup pineapple juice
1/2 cup canola oil
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup macadamia nuts, roughly chopped (honestly, I might lose these next time; they didn't add that much)
1/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (I could only find sweetened, so I cut the sugar in the recipe a bit)
2 cups carrots, grated

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease two 8-inch round springform cake pans, or one 9×13″ baking pan. (I just used two cake pans as my spring forms are different sizes)

In a medium mixing bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground spices.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the pineapple juice, oil, sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and combine well with a hand mixer or strong fork. Fold in the macadamias, ginger, coconut, and carrots.

Divide the batter evenly between the two round pans, or spread in the rectangular pan, and bake for 40-45 minutes. Let it cool in the pans. Once it is cool, remove from the pans and put coconut icing (recipe to follow) between the layers and more icing on top. If you’ve used a rectangular pan, you can cut the cake in half to form the two layers, or leave it as one layer.

Coconut Icing:
1/4 cup margarine at room temperature
1/4 cup coconut milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Cream the frosting until light and fluffy. Add the coconut milk and vanilla and combine. Add the confectioners sugar and mix until smooth. Hand held mixer recommended for this! Add the coconut, mix to combine, and refrigerate until ready to use. (I only used half of the icing and I sprinkled the coconut on top rather than mixing it in)