Pineapple Carrot Cake
This week marks the beginning of birthday season in the House of 8 with Mr8 adding yet another candle to the cake. Actually, he settled for two. We didn’t want to get carried away and set off the smoke detectors.
Pay no attention to the ruffled table cloth covered in food. We had just finished dinner with 6 kids, and it involved rice, so you get the picture.
This year Mr8 requested a Pineapple Carrot Cake for something different. I have only had one other cooking experience with Carrot Cake, and let’s just say it was less than successful, so this time I decided to follow the directions to a T and make sure I used the type of oil specified in the recipe, and not substitute with olive oil, which I can tell you now may work in muffins, but not in carrot cake. Fortunately this one turned out beautifully and I strutted around the kitchen quite proudly as I whipped up the Cream Cheese Frosting.
Now it’s no secret that I love nuts, but Mr8 isn’t fussed on nuts in cakes, so I substituted sultanas for the walnuts and toasted up some shredded coconut to sprinkle on the top. I wanted flaked coconut, but for some reason I couldn’t get it anywhere, but the shredded worked out nicely. You have to be really patient and careful when you are toasting your coconut. You need to keep it on a really low heat and stand there patiently tossing it around the pan, wondering if it will ever start to change colour, but when it does, Look Out!, because when the oil in that coconut heats up it really takes off and easily burns, so you need to watch it really carefully. My dream cake of course would have been surrounded by a wall of crushed walnuts. Maybe next time.
The pineapple is a really nice addition to this carrot cake and keeps it super-moist. Even The Vegemite Kid ate his slice, and I confess that I may even have told a White One when he asked me if there was any fruit in the cake. And once again I have found a recipe that conceals the presence of carrots very nicely. I’m just not really sure that it counts as a nutritional bonus when the carrot is inside a cake, does it?
If you think Carrot Cake sounds too challenging, then this recipe is for you. It’s ridiculously simple and quick to make. You’ll be wondering what all of the fuss is about, and on several occasions I found myself saying “But it was so simple to make” when I was receiving praise for my efforts.
Pineapple Carrot Cake
Ingredients:
2 Cups Plain Flour
4 tsp Baking Powder (Follow the teaspoon to cup ratio on your baking powder container)
2 tsp Bicarb Soda
1 tsp Salt
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 3/4 Cups White Sugar
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
3 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
2 Cups Grated Carrot
1 Cup Shredded or Flaked Coconut
1 Cup Sultanas (or chopped Walnuts)
440g Can Crushed Pineapple
Toasted Shredded Coconut
Icing:
250g Block Cream Cheese, softened
1/4 Cup Butter, softened
2 Cups Icing Sugar
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 175C.
Grease and line the base and sides of a Springform Pan.
In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, bicarb soda, salt and cinnamon.
In a jug, combine the sugar, oil, eggs and vanilla.
Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients.
Stir with a wooden spoon until smooth.
Add the carrot, coconut, sultanas and pineapple.
Stir to combine.
Pour the mixture into the springform pan and smooth the top.
Bake for 45 minutes.
If you feel the top is beginning to brown too much, grab a piece of Alfoil, shape it into a circle to fit on top of your cake allowing it to continue cooking without burning on top. I had to allow about another 10 minutes cooking time before my cake was no longer wobbly in the centre. It should spring back when you touch it lightly, but I recommend piercing it with a skewer to be sure it is cooked before taking it out of the oven. Your cake may sink slightly (not due to the pinprick of the skewer), but don’t worry, you are going to turn it up-side-down before icing.
Allow your cake to cool, then invert onto a plate ready for icing.
To make the icing: Whip together your cream cheese and butter until mixture is light and smooth, then add the icing sugar and beat until your mixture is creamy.
Spread generously over the top and sides of your cake and top with toasted coconut or crushed walnuts.
Adapted from a Recipe found at: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/carrot-pineapple-cake-i/