This homemade coconut caramel spice cake has a secret ingredient that makes it rich and moist. Topped with toasted caramel and drizzled with homemade caramel sauce.
Preheat the oven to 350º Fahrenheit. Grease the bottom of a 9x13 baking pan.
In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and shortening using a hand mixer on medium speed.
Add in the eggs and mix well again, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
Mix in the cottage cheese, water and vanilla.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, instant coffee, cinnamon, allspice and cloves.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix on medium speed until well blended, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
Fold in the chopped pecans.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Sprinkle the top with the flaked coconut.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the center of the cake springs back when you touch it.
Make the glaze:
In a small saucepan, combine the butter and brown sugar. Stir over low heat until the butter is melted.
Add in the milk. Bring to a low boil and simmer for 3 minutes.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes, then drizzle or spread over the top of the cake.
Top with whipped cream.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature.
Notes
*You can use butter if you'd like. **Leave out the instant coffee if you don't have it. It just enhances the spice flavors.***You can use a lower fat milk, but the caramel sauce is better with whole milk.Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.The calories shown are based on the cake being cut into 15 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of cake. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**Recipe Source: Pillsbury Bake Off Cake Cookbook