Happy Easter! Carrot Layer Cake with Crushed Pineapple

Carrot-cake-with-crushed-pineapple

Photo credit: Dawn Ballenger

 

From Corks &  Cake contributor, Dawn Ballenger:

This is an unusually moist and delicious cake I made recently.    A friend asked me to make a carrot cake for her husband’s birthday dinner.  I think I’ve made 1 or 2 carrot cakes in my life because it is not one of my favorites.

I searched my books for a recipe that seemed interesting and found it in one of John Folse’s cookbooks, The Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine.    This is a four layer cake with a zippy pineapple filling between the layers. I dyed coconut shavings for the garnish on the top.  Enjoy!

From John Folse, The Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine 

Ingredients for Cake:

  • 3 cups grated carrots
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1½ cups vegetable oil
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 cups flour
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 3 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 T. pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Grease and flour 4 (9-inch) cake pans.  Set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, cream sugar and oil until well blended.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, whisking after each addition.  In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.  Add dry ingredients to egg mixture, a little at a time, blending well.  Fold in carrots, vanilla, and pecans.  Once blended, pour batter evenly into pans.  Bake 30-40 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

Ingredients for Filling:

  • 1 (20-ounce) can crushed pineapple
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2½ T. cornstarch

In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients.  Bring to a low boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly — 5 minutes or until thickened.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.  Remove cakes from baking pans and spread pineapple filling between layers.

Ingredients for Icing:

  • 3½ cups powdered sugar
  • 8 ounces cream cheese
  • ½ cup butter, softened
  • 1¼ tsp pure vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients and beat until smooth.   Cover cake with cream cheese icing and serve.

Optional:  add a drop of food coloring of your choice to unsweetened coconut flakes for garnish.

Happy  Easter!

Jelly-Beans-Easter

Photo credit: Rebecca Penovich

 

 

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