Tag: pineapple

Oh Birthday Cake, My Carrot Cake

Oh Birthday Cake, My Carrot Cake

We celebrated Jeffrey and my brother’s birthdays yesterday.  Yes, they share the same birthday…many years apart.  I remember sitting on the couch dreading each new contraction while my family celebrated my brother’s birthday with big juicy rib-eye steaks off the grill.  The meal was cut short when I “exclaimed” through gritted teeth,  “I think I need to go to the hospital,  YOU (referring to my brother) will have to take your birthday cake home.”  That was twenty-two years ago. Wow, time flies.

24 Carrot Gold Recipe

The tradition of celebrating every birthday with Wes’s delicious carrot cake would not exist if not for a college girlfriend (his roommate’s), a classmate’s birthday, and a bag of carrots.  After finding a lone bag of carrots in their fridge, John’s girlfriend decided to bake a carrot cake for their classmate’s birthday.  Thus began the love affair between Wes and carrot cake (tough competition for me, lol).  He can’t recall the girlfriend’s name or for that matter the classmate whose birthday they celebrated.  But luckily he asked for her recipe and the rest is, as they say, is history.  Over the years he has modified it to his liking.  Out went the nuts and shredded coconut, in went dark raisins.  He doubled the luscious cream cheese frosting, you can never have too much frosting, and cut down the sugar to temper the sweetness.  This is a classic American cake; spicy, moist, sweet, peppered with pineapple and raisins and finished with a buttery sweet cream cheese frosting. YUM.

One Bowl Babee

That’s how simple and easy this cake is.  Wes pulls out an old tattered goldenrod Tupperware bowl (yes goldenrod, circa 1987), a whisk, and a grater to make his signature cake.  That’s about it.   Grate the carrots on the small holes of the grater. He likes a denser cake and will often throw the pineapple in without draining.  Drain the pineapple for a lighter, less dense cake. Bake the cake in a 9×13 rectangular cake, or  2-2 x 9-inch circular pans or in muffin tins to make cupcakes.  Throw some nuts in if you like, walnuts are usually the nut of choice.

Frost, Frost Baby

Tips for the cream cheese frosting:   Start with slightly softened butter but not warm, whip the butter first, add the cream cheese and continue to whip the two until light and creamy before adding the sugar.  Once the sugar is added, beat just long enough to fully incorporate the sugar, and then STOP.  Overbeating after adding the powdered sugar will cause the frosting to lose its structure.

So there you have it, hubby’s two favorite recipes, Good Cookies, and Carrot Cake.  I hope you’ll try them, both are absolutely delicious.  In fact…

I think I will go have a slice of cake right now.

Happy Birthday, Anson and Jeffrey!

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5 from 1 vote

Birthday Cake, Carrot Cake

Hubby’s carrot cake that is the fam’s cake of choice for birthday celebrations….no I’m not annoyed…not at all, lol.
Course Cake, Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Carrot cake, Carrots, cream cheese frosting
Prep Time 23 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour

Ingredients

Cake

    Dry Ingredients:

    • 2 cups all purpose flour
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
    • 1/2 tsp salt

    Wet Ingredients Part 1

    • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
    • 3 large eggs
    • 2 cups granulated sugar

    Wet Ingredients Part 2

    • 3/4 cup low fat buttermilk
    • 2 cups grated carrots use small holes of grater
    • 2 tsp vanilla extract
    • 1 8 oz. Can Crushed pineapple in pineapple juice See notes
    • 1 cup Regular raisins Can sub golden raisins if you like.

    Frosting:

    • 1 stick salted butter 4oz
    • 1 8-ounce brick of cream cheese
    • 3/4 cup powdered sugar sifted
    • 2 tsp vanilla extract

    Instructions

    Cake:

    • Preheat oven to 350. Rack should be in center of oven
    • Grease and flour a 9 x 13 pan.
    • Combine the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking soda in a small bowl. Set aside.
    • Beat oil, eggs and sugar together in a large bowl
    • Add the dry ingredients to the oil-egg mixture along with the rest of the ingredients (wet ingredients part 2) and stir with a whisk until well mixed.
    • Pour into pan and bake for 45-50 minutes.
    • Bake for 60 minutes if using the 10 inch round cake pan.
    • Bake for 25 minutes if making cupcakes.
    • Cake is done when the top is a rich golden brown, a tester should come out with just a few crumbs and relatively clean.

    Frosting:

    • Using a mixer, on medium speed beat butter until softened and slightly creamy.
    • Add cream cheese and vanilla, beat until well incorporated and mixture is light and creamy
    • Sift sugar over mixture and mix until combined and to desired consistency. Don't overbeat!
    • Use 1-1/2 recipe of frosting for 9x13 cake out of pan, single layer or cupcakes
    • For two layer cake double frosting recipe

    Notes

    For a denser cake use the pineapple without draining.  For a cakier, lighter, texture drain the pineapple before adding.  I personally like draining the pineapple, hubby has begrudgingly started to do this although he probably does leave a bit in.  Marriage is always a compromise 😉