The king of all carrot cakes. Pineapple, raisins, and spices create an explosion of flavors in this moist, rich cake. Topped with a cream cheese frosting, this one is the bomb!
Course
Cakes, Dessert
Cuisine
American
Prep Time25minutes
Cook Time40minutes
Total Time1hour5minutes
Servings12
AuthorChristoph
Ingredients
Cake
2 ¼cupsall-purpose flour
1 ½teaspoonsbaking powder
1teaspoonbaking soda
1½teaspoonground cinnamon
½teaspoonground ginger
½teaspoonsalt
½teaspoonground nutmeg
4extra-large eggs,at room temperature
1 ½cupssugar
1cupcanola oil
½cupbuttermilk
2/3cupsfirmly packed brown sugar
2teaspoonspure vanilla extract
½cupcrushed pineapple,drained
1poundfinely grated carrots
½cuptoasted walnuts,chopped
1cupgolden raisins,plumped
¼cupdried apricots,plumped and diced
½cuppistachios,chopped
Cream Cheese Frosting with Orange Zest
16ouncescream cheese,softened
4ounces1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2½teaspoonspure vanilla extract
Zest of 1 orange,plus 2 tablespoons of juice
3-4cupsconfectioners’ sugar to taste
Method
Cake
Heat oven to 350° F. Prepare two 9-inch cake pans by lightly coating with oil and lining the bottoms with parchment paper.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, salt and nutmeg together in a bowl. Set aside.
Mix the eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk, brown sugar, vanilla, and pineapple together in a large bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until fully incorporated.
Stir in the carrots, nuts, and plumped fruits just until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake on the center rack for about 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.
Cool cakes in their pans for at least 30 minutes before attempting to remove them. Then, remove from the pans and peel off the parchment paper. Cool the cakes completely before frosting.
Frosting
Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth.
Add extract, juice, and zest and beat just until incorporated.
Beat in sugar, one cup at a time, until frosting has the flavor and consistency you want. (You may not need to add all of the sugar).
Assemble
Spread a layer of frosting over the top of one half of the cake. Place the second layer on top and spread with frosting. Sprinkle with chopped pistachio nuts.