Instead of baking this carrot cake for my birthday two weeks ago, I went out and bought a big ol’ slice of the stuff. My roommates and I simply didn’t need an entire cake to ourselves. But you see, the purchased cake was dry. And there wasn’t enough frosting to compensate.
When cream cheese frosting can’t save the day, you know something is wrong. And sad. That cake was wrongand sad.*
So I took over Thanksgiving and made myself a belated birthday cake. My brother was a little disappointed that there was no pumpkin pie, and I’m pretty sure that some sort of fruit cobbler will soon make an appearance on my father’s behalf.
But you know what? The two of them enjoyed my carrot cake. They enjoyed the copious amounts of frosting and the moist crumb. The small piece left in the fridge proves that. And you knowwhy they enjoyed it?
Because it’s not your ordinary carrot cake.
No, it contains a full two cups of crushed pineapple. Includingthe liquid. The pineapple makes the cake incredibly moist and slightly sweet. It provides little pockets of texture. It beats raisins and dates by leaps and bounds. It makes apple sauce look like a sissy.**
Yeah, I’m on the pineapple side of the Great Carrot Cake Debate. All you need is a can of crushed pineapple, chopped walnuts, and fresh spices. And good frosting, of course.
Oh, and a sous chef whowears a lobster hat while he preps a freshly caught lobster for you. That was part of Friday night’s dinner, which saw us eating an easy lobster and shrimp scampi instead of leftover turkey. Leftover carrot cake, of course, was consumed.
*Stay away from cake at The Cheesecake Factory. I know I should have known better, but it’s always looked so good. And cheesecake, while delicious, has too much dairy for my poor stomach.
**I like apple sauce, I just don’t believe it belongs in 99% of the baked goods you see it in.
You can sort of see the extra frosting on the right.
And because I believe in full disclosure (and making fun of my kitchen mishaps), I’m letting you know that part of this cake had to be frosted back together. A very slippery non-stick pan should never be placed atop a non-stick cooling rack. Even the tiniest of nudges can lead to a catastrophe.
But I persevered, and picked myself and my second cake layer up off the floor. I did a little reconstruction. I tried to pull out as many dog hairs* as possible. And I got a pretty even looking structure. I am proud.
*Persons who own cats and/or dogs understand that a meal isn’t a meal without a little animal hair. We try our hardest, but even when the food doesn’t touch the floor, it has a tendency to attract a stray hair or two.
Carrot Cake
2 cups grated carrots
2 cupsundrained crushed pineapple
4 eggs
1 1/4 cup oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts
Cream Cheese Frosting
(If making a layer cake,
make at least half a recipe extra)
1 stick butter, room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 lb. powdered sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Decoration
sweetened shredded coconut
chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350F. First mix carrots, pineapple, eggs and oil. Add in sugar. Then add in the rest of the dry ingredients, including the walnuts.
Option 1: Bake in greased 13inx9in pan for 50 minutes to an hour.
Option 2: Bake in two greased 8 inch cake rounds for approximately 40 minutes.
Frost once cooled. One Tough Cookie has agreat tutorial on frosting a layer cake. For the side decor, you’re just pressing the nuts and coconut into the cake a little bit at a time.
