Carrot Pineapple Spice Cake

Alton Brown’s Carrot Cake with some ah, enhancements!

Sorry Alton! I can never leave well enough alone! I just love your show, Good Eats! It is an amazing testament to the how and why of food science. The wealth of scientific explanations, the visuals that show how ingredients react to and with each other, and your charming whit and sense of humor make it one of the best food shows, at least in my humble opinion. However, sometimes endeavoring to make your recipes can be a bit daunting. All the gadgets, like food scales that weigh ingredients instead of just measuring them. I know, I know it is actually more accurate; and a food thermometer to test whether a cake is done, really, is that necessary? I think not! It is just too complicated! Besides, I am a poor unemployed educator who does not have the funds for such gadgets. Oh and I lost my food thermometer the last time we moved so the Thanksgiving Turkey may be a bit over cooked this year. So, Alton if you have a spare food thermometer it would be a big help... When I saw your carrot cake recipe posted on Facebook, I was inspired. I wanted to make an old-fashioned cake for Easter Dinner and this seemed like a great start, so thank you, Alton!

Carrot Pineapple Spice Cake

Ingredients:

6 medium carrots, shredded

2 1/2 cups, unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

3 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

3/4 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

3 large eggs

3/4 cup sour cream

1 – 8.25 oz can crushed pineapple, packed in pineapple juice, drained

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9-inch round cake pans. Set aside.

Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in medium mixing bowl. Add the grated carrots and toss to coat. In the bowl of the stand mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs beat well and add the sour cream and mix. Add the pineapple and the carrot mixture and stir to combine. Do not over mix; however, all the flour should be incorporate into the batter. Pour into the prepared cake pans and bake on sheet pan in the middle of the oven for 23 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees and bake for another 1o minutes or until a toothpick or a cake tester inserted into the center of the cakes, comes out clean.

Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool for 15 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and cool completely on cake racks.

Frost with my Cream Cheese Frosting recipe, below…

This is a link to Alton’s recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/carrot-cake-recipe/index.html

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

12 oz cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 – 16 oz package powdered sugar, sifted

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Beat the cream cheese with the butter until creamy and smooth. Add the vanilla extract and stir to combine. Add the sugar a little at a time and mix after each addition. Beat until smooth after the final addition of the sugar.