This pineapple carrot cake recipe has been in my family all my life. Although this isn't one of our traditional Italian cakes my mom had it marked in her cookbook, and she baked it for a lot of birthdays.It was one of those "special occaison" cakes when I was growing up.
My son asked for this on his 16th birthday. And instead of frosting he asked for whipped cream. (See whipped cream recipe ) What kind of crazy people don't like frosting?!?! American baking usually calls for a cream cheese frosting - which is basically cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar. But I honored his wishes, and made whipped cream.
Now if you want a frosting I have a whole section of cake frosting recipes . I'd suggest my coconut frosting recipe to go on this. It would blend well with the pineapple in the cake. Kind of a tropical pairing.
I will say this pineapple carrot cake is a little different than the thick sick-y sweet ones in many restaraunts. Here's why. You sift the flour. which you always do, right? And then there's soda AND baking powder. Now, I don't want to lead you astray either, it's not like a white cake in lightness either. It's right in-between.
You can make this as a 3 layer cake (9 inch rounds). OR in a 13 x 9. I like easy. So the last time I baked this, I chose the 13 x 9. And most of the time I do the 13 x 9. If I'm feeling fancy-pants, then I'll split it into a triple layer.
Happy baking. And thanks for stopping by -
* 2 cups of flour
* 2 cups of sugar
* 2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 1/2 teaspoons soda
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 teaspoons cinnamon
* 1 1/2 cups of oil
* 4 eggs
* 2 cups of grated carrots
* 8.5 oz can of crushed pineapple - drained
* 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
* Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
* Take out ONE large mixing bowl
* Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon.
* Add the sugar, oil and eggs - mix well
* Add carrots, drained pineapple and nuts.
* Turn into 3 greased and floured cake pans
* Bake 35 - (or done). If baking a 13 x 9 plan on approx 45-50 minutes.
* Fill and/or with a cream cheese frosting or coconut frosting (see cake frosting recipes for ideas)
Any carrot-type cake is a denser-type cake. This one is a little less so than what you get in restaraunts. So in this pineapple carrot cake - the oil, along with the pineapple adds the moisture. However, you could experiment and try maybe half of the oil portion with an unsalted butter. And in many times when I am serving those who watch the fat intake - I will swap a lot of the oil for applesauce or yogurt. Now, I haven't specifically done that in this recipe. But it's my "go to" substituion for oil.
A single layer works. I've made it in a 13 x 9. Bake according to golden rule. When it's golden and springs back - it's done.
Nah. We just them and almonds a lot in Italian dessert recipes. American cooking uses pecans a lot - and they would work fine here too.
Back to the top of the pineapple carrot cake.
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