Vegan Carrot Cake with Coconut Icing (Ginger-Macadamia-Coconut-Carrot Cake)

This is from the book, Vegan With A Vengeance. I put my changes off to the side. It was really good, and people didn't even know it was vegan.

Cake Ingredients:

• 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup pure maple syrup (I used 1/4 cup maple syrup and 1/4 cup agave because maple syrup is really expensive.)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped macadamia nuts (I used 1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped (I used dried/sweetened ginger from Trader Joes that was un-crystallized and it work great)
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2 cups carrots, grated (I used 3)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 2 8 or 9 inch cake pans. In a large bowl mix together dlour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. In a separate bowl mix together the pineapple juice, oil, sugar, maple syrup and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet in batches. Fold in the rest of the ingredients. Divide the batter between the 2 pans and bake for 35-45 minutes. Cool completely before removing from pans and then frost with coconut icing (I didn't wait to remove the cakes from the pans before cooling and they stuck to the bottom, I guess parchment paper can be used to prevent sticking).

Coconut Icing Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup non-hydrogenated margarine (I used Spectrum Organic shortening and a touch of butter flavoring along with 2 tablespoons coconut oil)
• 1/4 cup coconut milk (I used about 1/3 cup)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar (I used 2 1/2-3 cups)
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (I used about 1 1/2- 2 cups)

Directions:
Cream the margarine or shortening/coconut oil until fluffy. Add the coconut milk and vanilla, mix until combined. Beat in the confectioners' sugar with an electric mixer until smooth (about 5 minutes). Fold in the coconut. Refrigerate for an hour before using, it makes it thicker. I added the coconut oil because I didn't think it had that strong of a coconut flavor, so I compensated with additional sugar to get the right consistency. Ice the cake and top with additional coconut if desired.