This week was very special, it was Jay’s birthday week. Jay’s favorite hobby is photography, but he also loves the outdoors – hiking, camping or just walking around the community.
He is not a cake guy, so I was a bit skeptical at first, thinking I would make this cake for him, but I also know that he is someone who would at least try something before completely discarding it. He is also not a chocolate person, so this cake, that I made for him, has the perfect blend of sweetness, crunchiness, and subtle flavors, but no chocolate.
It’s a carrot cake with crushed pineapple, shredded coconuts, walnuts, and a hint of cinnamon. I topped it off with heavy whipping cream frosting and sweet shredded coconut. And since he loves hiking and camping, I created a little skinny forest, made of a rosemary plant, a fire pit made of cinnamon sticks to look like logs and a candle for fire.
It was a sweet and simple celebration and he loved the cake.
Last year, I made simple vanilla cake with chocolate ganache frosting and covered the cake with fondant. But what was so special about that cake was that it was shaped like a camera, his amazing hobby. I surprised myself, as it looked pretty good, considering it’s the first time I created a cake that looked like an object. I have shared the picture below for you all to see.
Incredibly Moist and Easy Carrot Cake
Ingredients
- 20 oz Can Crushed Pineapple (drained and reserve juice)
- 1/4 Cup Canned Pineapple Juice (from canned pineapple above)
- 3/4 Cup Milk (full fat; room temperature)
- 1 Tsp White Vinegar (or lemon juice)
- 3 Eggs( room temperature)
- 1 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar (light)
- 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil (or canola)
- 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 2 TSP Baking Soda
- 1/2 TSP Salt
- 2 TSP Cinnamon Powder
- 2 Cups Carrot(grated)
- 1/4 Cup Coconut (shredded plain or unsweetened)
- 1/2 Cup Walnuts (roughly chopped)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line two 8" round pans with baking/parchment paper.
- Drain crushed pineapple well, reserving the juice. Measure out 1/4 cup of pineapple juice.
- Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, mix the milk, vinegar, eggs, sugar, oil, and the pineapple juice.
- Stir in carrot, crushed pineapple, coconut, and walnuts into the wet ingredients bowl.
- Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients, stir until flour is incorporated.
- Pour evenly into the pans. Bake for about 40 minutes or until a tooth-pick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Let it sit for 10 minutes in the pan before turning out onto a cooling rack.
- Frost the cake with frosting of your choice and enjoy.
