From Epicurious
I used this recipe for dad’s birthday cake this year. I accidentally set the oven too high and burned the outside of the cupcakes, but I was still able to salvage the insides, serve them in ramekins topped with butter pecan gelato. Good flavor overall:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup canned pineapple, finely chopped and all juice squeezed out
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 1/4 teaspoons organic ground cinnamon
- Pinch of freshly grated organic nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup dark-brown sugar
- 3/4 cup oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
- 1 pound carrots
- 3/4 chopped nuts
- 1/2 cup raisins, soaked and drained
- 1/2 cup coconut
- 3/4 cup chopped toasted organic walnuts
- 1/2 cup organic golden raisins, plumped in warm water for 20 minutes and drained
- 1/2 tablespoon minced fresh organic ginger
DIRECTIONS
- Place the dried coconut in a cup of warm water to soften and set it aside for 15 minutes.Place the carrots in a food processor and pulse on and off for 1 minute. Then add the pineapple and pulse until the carrots are cut into very small pieces and the pineapple is pureed, 1 to 2 minutes.In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Add the brown sugar and use a whisk to break up any lumps.
Drain the coconut and place it in a medium bowl. Add the oil, vanilla extract, eggs, and carrot-pineapple mixture, and whisk to combine.
Add the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing with a rubber spatula to incorporate but not overmix. When the batter is almost mixed, stir in the additions, if using. Pour the batter into the prepared pans.
Bake for 55 minutes, or until the tops are a very golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. (It may look as if the cake is too well done, but it takes a while to bake because it’s so dense.) For cupcakes, the baking time is 35 to 40 minutes.
Nesting On A Hill 