Around here, it’s rare to come across a carrot cake with pineapple in it. In fact, I’ve only had it once in like 25 years of eating carrot cake. But it is delicious, and I prefer it.
Not a fan of walnuts in carrot cake, but that’s just because I’m not a fan of walnuts, or any nuts in cakes. I might make an exception for pecans, though.
I could go either way on the raisins.
As far as I am concerned, all three are optional. But I could not vote since I don’t choose any of those choices.
Consider me blown away. One recipe (and IME the most often poured) for a slippery nipple uses butterscotch schnapps. I’d bet if you asked a dozen people what 3 kinds of schnapps they’ve had, ten would have butterscotch on their list.
Sure. Here you go:
The Healthier Carrot Cake Recipe
[ul]
[li]3 cups carrots, peeled and grated[/li][li]2 cups all-purpose flour[/li][li]1 tsp baking soda[/li][li]1 1/2 tsp baking powder[/li][li]1/2 tsp salt[/li][li]1 1/2 tsp cinnamon[/li][li]4 eggs at room temp[/li][li]1 cup honey[/li][li]1/2 cup canola oil, or extra light olive oil for an even healthier cake![/li][li]2 tsp vanilla[/li][li]1 cup applesauce[/li][li]1 cup crushed walnuts, toasted on a skillet (optional – I omitted these inside the cake since not everyone in my family eats nuts).[/ul][/li]Ingredients for Cream Cheese Frosting:
[ul]
[li]2 cups powdered sugar[/li][li]16 oz cream cheese at room temp[/li][li]2 sticks unsalted butter, softened at room temp[/li][li]1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract[/li][/ul]
Modified Ingredients for Cream Cheese Frosting:
[ul]
[li]2 cups powdered sugar[/li][li]24 oz cream cheese at room temp[/li][li]1 stick unsalted butter, softened at room temp[/li][li]1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract[/li][/ul]
To Decorate:
1/2 to 3/4 cup walnuts, coarsley chopped and toasted on a skillet (optional)
1/4 cup to drizzle over the top
How to Make the Carrot Cake Layers:
Preheat the Oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour 2 round cake pans.
In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon.
In a large bowl beat eggs on high speed until foamy (1 min), Add 1 cup honey and beat on high another 4 min. Blend in 1/2 cup canola oil, 2 tsp vanilla and applesauce. (My son wasn’t happy with me about the applesauce situation…)
Add the flour mixture about 1/2 cup at a time and mix until it is just incorporated into the batter.
Use a spatula to fold in the grated carrots and walnuts (if using) just until combined.
Divide the batter equally among the two cake pans and bake at 350 ˚ F for 28-32 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (mine took ~30 min). Tip: While cakes are in the oven make your frosting and refrigerate it until ready to use. Remove cakes from the oven and once they are cool enough to handle, remove from cake molds and let them cool completely to room temp before assembling and frosting your cake. Note: if the cakes are still warm, your frosting will melt.
How to Make Cream Cheese Frosting:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat 2 sticks of butter with 2 cups powdered sugar on low speed or until combined (1 min) Don’t start on high speed or you will be surrounded in a cloud of powdered sugar (lessons learned). Increase speed to high and beat until the mixture is pale and fluffy (2 min).
Add cream cheese 1-piece at a time and mix until combined. (I waited maybe 3 seconds in between each piece; it’s one after another really. Once all of the cream cheese is incorporated. continue to beat 1 more minute.
Add 1 Tbsp vanilla and mix until combined (1 min). Refrigerate frosting until ready to use. Note: if you are refrigerating for a long period of time, you might let it soften up at room temp for easier spreading. Assembling your Carrot cake:
Place your first (fully cooled) cake layer down on a cake platter. Cover the top generously with frosting. (I used an OXO Bent Icing Knife; very handy tool for cakes!) Top with the second cake layer and frost the top and sides until smooth.
I pulled the frosting up all around the top rim of the cake (If you don’t have an icing kife, you can use a spoon) to make the “column” effect on the sides (I’m not a pro, but I’m improving. I’m sharing my technique just in case some of you are worse at this than I am! lol). I then used my WILTON 1M large frosting tip and a pastry bag to pipe the pattern all around the cake.
Top the cake (staying inside the border) with toasted coarsely chopped walnuts and drizzle generously with honey. This cake is best when enjoyed the same day it’s made, but refrigerate the cake if not serving right away and let it sit at least 1 hour at room temp before serving to give the frosting and cake a chance to soften up.
Mod Hat On
Someone say “cake”? Off to Cafe Society!
Carrot Cake should have carrots in it.
I’d be fine with all three of these ingredients in my carrot cake. The more, the merrier! But if I had to rank them, they would be as follows:
[ol]
[li]Raisins[/li][li]Walnuts.[/li][li]Pineapple. (Also, Hi Opal.)[/li][/ol]
Of course, any and all carrot cake must be generously slathered with cream cheese frosting. So says I.
I don’t think I have ever seen a carrot cake without both raisins and walnuts, or one with pineapple.
Then again, I usually steer away from carrot cake. Spice cake with raisins (but no nuts), I’ll eat, but carrot cake gets a pass.
But no flour - some people can’t have gluten. :smack:
I’ve never seen carrot cake with raisins or pineapple, to be honest, but…
As much as I like both of them in other contexts, I can’t imagine raisins or pineapple working, texturally, with carrot cake.
Walnuts, on the other hand, are a must. (Well, not exactly a MUST, but definitely a plus.)
No, for pineapple. Count me among those who have never seen, or even heard of, pineapple in carrot cake.
Yes, for walnuts, because I love nuts.
No, for raisins, because while I don’t mind them, I don’t really feel they belong.
My grandmother made me a carrot cake for my birthday for many years. She knew it was my favorite. She made every grandchild’s favorite desert for their birthday.
She used all the poll options. But, not excessively. It wasn’t obvious that pineapple was in there.
I’ve never found a store bought carrot cake as good. Although I do buy one occasionally and slice for the freezer. Nice snack with a cup of coffee.
I don’t associate carrot cake with fruitiness or acidity. It’s a spice cake.
I also just find it hard to understand how you could have something as strong as pineapple without tasting it. If anything, I’d expect it to overpower the subtle carrot flavor.
This is not quite a thread hijack and the OP and MODS are free to tell me to go do something biologically improbable but I am curious about something.
To the people who say not to put pineapple in the carrot cake: Why?
I said not to use it in a carrot cake not because I didn’t like it but because to my mind, adding pineapple turns it into something like a Hummingbird cake - something not a “carrot cake”. Carrot cake is narrowly defined (and must have cream cheese frosting - not a butter cream). Adding other flavors may be a wonderful, tasty treat that may inspire a knife fight if you try to take the last slice from me but it makes it not “carrot cake”.
Am I being a pedantic twit or do I have a point?
Raisins are an abomination at all times and in all things.
Neither. Being pedantic requires being right, if only on a technicality.
Carrot cake is a cake made with carrots, not a specific recipe. Saying adding to it makes it not a carrot cake is like saying adding to a cake made with chocolate makes it not a chocolate cake.
Well, I don’t know if that anaolgy works for me. I’d say if you added pineapples to chocolate cake, you certainly would have pineapple-chocolate cake, and not chocolate cake. And if you added carrots to chocolate cake or vice versa, you’d have some cake hybrid and neither chocolate nor carrot cake.
That said, the definition of carrot cake may be flexible enough that adding pineapple is within bounds, if it’s done commonly enough and sold simply as “carrot cake.”
ETA: Or here’s one. I make chocolate chip cookies. I add a few raisins to them. I describe them simply as chocolate chip cookies. What do you think?
ETA: Or here’s one. I make chocolate chip cookies. I add a raisins to them. I describe them simply as chocolate chip cookies. I think a number of people might crucify me for that. That said, walnuts seem to be within bounds (although I’d still point out the nuts for other reasons), so maybe pineapple falls under the fair and expected exception for carrot cake, even though I’m completely unaware of it. If it’s like I’m imagining it, just an accent that doesn’t really let itself be known, then maybe I can let it go.
The carrot cake with pineapple that I’ve had has been fairly subtle. Just enough pineapple to notice, but not enough to jump out at you. It doesn’t much change the character of the cake.