Old Fashioned Carrot Cake with Pineapple Flowers

By srumbel

This Old Fashioned Carrot Cake with Pineapple Flowers is my well loved recipe made in a 9 x 13 -inch pan. Plus, I glammed it up with a few pineapple flowers for a holiday lunch.
from thatskinnychickcanbake.com

Ingredients

• Pineapple Flowers
• 1/2 whole pineapple, peeled, cored and sliced very thin (you'll need 12 or more slices)
• Cake
• 2 cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs, lightly whisked
• 2 teaspoons vailla
• 1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 1/3 cup cooked and pureed carrots
• 3/4 cup crushed pineapple, drained
• Frosting
• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• A squeeze of lemon juice from half a lemon

Details

Preparation time 30mins
Cooking time 150mins

Preparation

Step 1

*To make pineapple flowers, preheat oven to 225º. Line two baking sheets with Silpats (French nonstick baking mats) or parchment paper. I sliced my pineapple with a benrinerThe New Basics Cookbook.

Place pineapple slices on paper towels, then top with another layer or two of paper towels to help dry up any excess juices.

Place slices on baking sheets. Cook until tops look dried, about 30 minutes. Flip slices; cook until completely dried, 25 to 30 minutes more. Let cool slightly.

Place slices into a muffin tin, pressing down to make a cup shape. Return to the warm oven which has been turned off, to finish drying (I left them in overnight with a post-it on the oven reminding me not to turn it on!). Reserve pineapple flowers to garnish finished cake.

To make cake, preheat oven to 350º. Grease 9 x 13 inch baking dish.

Add dry ingredients to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add oil, eggs, and vanilla. Mix until well combined. Fold in walnuts, coconut, carrots and pineapple.

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until edges have pulled away from the sides and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Place on wire rack to cool for 2-3 hours.

To make frosting, cream together the cream cheese and butter in a mixing bowl.

Slowly sift in the powdered sugar and continue beating until fully incorporated and no lumps remain.

Stir in the vanilla and lemon juice.

Frost top of cake, and garnish with pineapple flowers if desired.

by Liz Berg
Recipe Notes

* If you want to garnish with pineapple flowers, make them the day before, so they have ample time to dry.

Serves 24