This is actually an indirect “Ask Foodieporn” as no one has said, “Hey V, you mention this fabulous recipe in your post about cooking ephemera and then nothing” so much as several people have come to the site looking for that recipe via Yahoo! or Google searches. In an effort to give where I was neglectful:
Carrot-Pineapple Cake from “Unusual and Old World Recipes” by Nordic Ware
3 cups sifted [unbleached]* all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar [or evaporated cane juice]
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple [in juice]
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups cooking [I used super canola] oil
2 teaspoons [Bourbon] vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups chopped nuts [pecans or walnuts]
2 cups raw carrots, grated and loosely packed [use large whole carrots, not “baby carrots” in a bag]
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Butter and lightly flour a traditionally shaped 12-cup Bundt® pan making certain to knock out all excess flour.
Sift together all dry ingredients. Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Add the reserved pineapple juice to dry ingredients, then eggs, oil, and vanilla; beat three minutes. Stir in pineapple, nuts, and carrots. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about one and half hours or until a wooden skewer tests clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes; turn out onto wire rack. After topping with glaze transfer to serving plate or cake stand.
The original recipe calls for lemon glaze but I prefer an orange glaze with the carrots and pineapple. ORANGE GLAZE: Combine 3/4 cup sifted confectioner’s (icing) sugar, 1/4 cup finely chopped nuts (same as used in cake) and one tablespoon of orange juice. While cake is still slightly warm drizzle over the glaze and allow to cool completely.
*I have tweaked the original recipe a bit and rewritten the directions, so I wanted to present the cake I made rather than the original without my notes. One of the main differences was that the original called for adding more grated carrot to the glaze instead of the nuts that I added. I just wasn’t keen on the idea of raw carrots on top of the cake and the pecans or walnuts look nicer and add a bit of crunch. Additionally, adding a teaspoon of cardamom to the batter with the cinnamon makes for a little mystery as most people can’t guess what it is but will love it.
