Sunshine - carrot and pineapple - cake

I got this recipe from Australian Women’s Weekly site, having compared a few recipes that included both pineapple and carrot. It has the most carrot of any of the recipes that I found. It comes together very easily and everyone who has had it has liked it ‘not too sweet’ they say, although I think it’s quite sweet, but very tasty. You can see the shreds of carrot in it. It's lovely and nutty.

I came home with a slice

I couldn’t find crushed pineapple so I drained a can of pineapple chunks and blended them. 

This is a very large cake, so halve the ingredients and use a smaller tin if there are less than 16 of you. Or you are very greedy.

I used a lemon icing with some sour cream added into it which worked well. I have been disappointed with cream cheese frosting before now.

Ingredients

4 eggs, beaten lightly

1½ cups (330g) raw caster sugar

200 ml mild extra virgin olive oil

1 cup (150g) plain flour

1⅓ cups (200g) self-raising flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

4 large (750g) carrots, peeled, coarsely grated

1½ cups (150g) walnuts

1½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp mixed spice

2 tsp vanilla extract

440 grams can crushed pineapple, well drained

PREP 

Preheat the oven to 170C (150C fan forced). Grease and line base and sides of a 28cm round cake pan.

Method

Spread walnuts on an oven tray. Bake for 7 minutes or until fragrant and browned lightly. Chop walnuts coarsely.
Sift flours, soda and spices into a large bowl and stir in the sugar
Beat in eggs, vanilla, oil then carrot, pineapple and walnuts until well mixed
Pour cake mixture into the prepared pan.
Bake for 1 ½ hours or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Stand the cake in the pan for 30 minutes, then turn onto wire rack to cool completely.

Ice and decorate to suit

I used this citrus icing

250g icing sugar

75g unsalted butter

3 tbsp lemon juice

zest of 1 lemon

zest of 1 orange

• finely grate the zest
• sift icing sugar into bowl with the zest
• cut the butter into thin slices and heat slowly, until completely melted - do not boil
• pour hot melted butter into the sifted icing sugar, beating as you pour, until it is all taken up by the sugar
• heat the juice in the pan (I use the same pan... without washing)
• pour the hot juice into the sugar/butter mixture, beating as you pour, until it is one silky mixture
• let the icing cool until it stiffens, beating it again before using it