Whole Wheat Carrot & Pineapple Cake

A good carrot cake is meant to be eaten throughout the year, seasons are just an added excuse!  Or so thinks yours truly!

The last of the bits and pieces of Ottolenghi's Carrot Cake stashed away in the freezer were devoured long ago. Winter came and went, I almost could taste and smell the cake whenever I saw carrots. Coconut, nuts, carrots and spices, irresistible! But life has been a tad busy of late and I did not get a chance to bake that cake again. Thank God for fresh carrots all year round, I finally got some to bake a cake. Only this time around it had to be a healthier, easier version I could bake more often.
 

The 100% whole wheat carrot cake page in the King Arthur Whole Grain Book has been thumbed often enough, so I really wasn't searching for a recipe. And when the cake promises to be one which is hard to tell as whole wheat, I have no second thoughts! Delivering what it promises, it indeed is a delightful cake with a surprisingly tender crumb. Succulent pineapple bits make a lovely addition. Very soft and so good warm, I had to remind hubby and son that I still had to take some pictures. The advantage of baking a cake in a square tin, you can actually taste the cake before you take the mandatory pictures!  

What's even better is, it's a simple and easy cake to bake. I like these cakes plain, dress it up with cream cheese frosting if you wish!  

Watch the video! 

For best results, do not make any changes to the recipe. Use the right tools, pan size and ingredients. 

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Ingredients :

Eggs - 2 large / 100 grams (without shell)

Vegetable oil - 3/4 cup / 180 ml

Grated orange zest - 1 teaspoon

Vanilla extract - 1 teaspoon

Sugar - 3/4 cup / 150 grams, powdered (weigh and then process). Use 1/2 cup/100 grams for a just about sweet cake

Brown sugar - 1/4 cup / 50 grams

Whole wheat flour - 112 grams

Baking soda - 1 teaspoon

Baking powder - 3/4 teaspoon

Salt - a pinch

Ground cinnamon - 1 teaspoon

Ground cloves - 1/4 teaspoon

Finely grated carrots - 1 1/4 cup approximately / 122 grams

Pecans or walnuts or cashew nuts, chopped and toasted - 1/2 cup (or more)

Unsweetened shredded coconut - 1/2 cup / 40 grams

Pineapple bits ( I used canned) - generous 1/2 to 1 cup

Cream cheese Frosting ( Optional )

Unsalted butter, at room temperature - 3 tablespoons /

Cream cheese, at room temperature - 4 oz 

Vanilla extract - 1/2 teaspoon

Confectioner's sugar - 2 cups/ 225 grams, sifted

Chopped nuts - 1/2 cup, optional

Milk - 1-2 tablespoons

Method:

• Pre-heat  oven to 180 C / 350 F. Line an 8'' square tin with baking parchment, grease lightly. You could alternatively use a 9'' or 8'' round tin or a 9x13 pan for double the recipe. The baking time will vary.

• Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, spices and salt. Set aside.

• In a medium sized bowl, using a hand mixer, beat the eggs on the lowest speed for about 30 seconds. Add the oil, vanilla and orange zest, beat 30 seconds again.

• Tip in the sugar, beat again just to incorporate, about 30 seconds.  Add the flour, beat 30 seconds on low speed till smooth. Using a spatula, mix in the carrots, pineapple bits, coconut and nuts.

• Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan. Cooling it for a few hours should give you neater slices. 
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• Dust with confectioner's sugar or frost with cream cheese, both entirely optional.

Cream cheese frosting

Combine the butter, cream cheese and vanilla in a medium bowl and beat them together till light and fluffy. Add the sugar gradually, beating well. Stir in the nuts, then the milk, a little at a time, till the frosting is of a spreadable consistency. 

Please note: 

Spices : The recommended amount of spices is 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg. I used lesser(above) and used cloves in place of the nutmeg. I may add about 1/8 teaspoon more cinnamon next time.

You can use 1 cup raisins in place of  half of 8 oz can pineapple bits, but the cake will not be as moist.

Baking time :  8'' round - 30-35 minutes

9'' round - 35-40 minutes

Sheet cake - 45-50 minutes.


This tasty cake, I know will be made regularly to feed the sweet tooth of the foodie son and the fruit-cake loving hubby.  Now, we can't really deprive the baker of her slice. Right?

Forgive me for me being irregular, hope to be around more often! So, what's baking in your home to feed the exam fervor?

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Cinnamon Sugar Breadsticks

''I need air-conditioning in the kitchen'', I told hubby as he sipped his morning cuppa. The 'small' needs of the obsessed home baker - a separate baking kitchen, a DSLR, a mile long wish-list of props and bake-ware and now an AC just for the kitchen!  I was kidding of course, but he is now quite accustomed to listening to such weird things from the baker-blogger wife.  But wouldn't it be a dream to be able to produce good puff pastry even in summer?

I have so been itching to make some puff pastry since some time. The greasy pie crust I baked and discarded warned me to stay away from puff pastry since this heat can melt even chilled butter pretty fast. Visions of flaky puff pastry had to take a back-seat to be replaced  with some cinnamon-y, sugar kissed, crisp bread sticks. Very do-able indeed!

Surprisingly, I was not much of a cinnamon person earlier. When you start baking, cinnamon bread is one of the things that invariably lands up in the baking bucket list. Not to forget the acquired affinity for cinnamon in graham crackers, biscotti, apple pie and more. I realize I have grown to like cinnamon, as long as I keep it to smallish quantities agreeable to my olfactory senses and palate.

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Cinnamon Sugar Bread Sticks : Light sugar and cinnamon bread sticks for times you want cinnamon sweetness with a crunch!

The recipe makes a small batch of about 18-20 bread sticks.

 For the dough :

All purpose flour - 98 grams
Salt - 1/4 teaspoon
Sugar - 1/2 tablespoon
Instant Yeast - 1/2 teaspoon
Ground cinnamon - 1/4 teaspoon
Oil - 1 tablespoon
Water - 60 ml / 1/4 cup
Vanilla - 1/4 teaspoon

For the filling

Unsalted butter, soft - 15 grams / 1 tablespoon
Ground cinnamon - 1/4 teaspoon
Granulated sugar - 1 - 1.5 tablespoon to taste

For the egg wash : One egg whisked with a tablespoon of water (you will need very little of this, but it helps the sugar stick to the bread sticks)

Sugar - 4 tablespoons / 1/4 cup
Ground cinnamon - 1 teaspoon

Soft butter to brush on top - a tablespoon or so.

• To make the dough - Mix all the dough ingredients and knead for about 8-10 minutes to make a soft, smooth, elastic dough . (Note: If you using active dried yeast, you will need to proof it first using lukewarm water, the rise may be faster). Place the dough in a lightly greased dough rising bucket, cover and let rise at room temperature till double. This will take about 30-35 minutes as its quite hot now. Note down how long it takes to double.
• While the dough is rising, line your cookie sheet(s) with baking parchment. I used two 9'' square tins.
• Mix the butter and cinnamon. Keep your silicon brush and dough scraper on hand. Lightly flour your work surface.
• Once the dough doubles, dump it on the floured counter and roll into a 3 - 4mm thick square, approximately 10'' / 10''. Keep the thickness uniform as much as possible.
  
• Using the brush, spread the butter and cinnamon mixture evenly on the rolled dough.
• Fold the dough in half with the filling inside.
• Using the dough cutter or pizza wheel or a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1 cm strips.
• Lift them up carefully and place on the lined sheet, spaced 2 cm apart.
• Cover and let rise at room temperature till puffy, for around the same duration as the first rise.
• Towards the end of the rise period, pre-heat oven to 190 C / 375 F.
• Brush the tops of the strips with the egg wash and sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture on it liberally.
• Bake for about 15-17 minutes or till crisp.
• Brush with additional butter and serve warm.
• These are best eaten fresh and warm, though you could re-fresh them in the oven by baking them for 5 minutes at 180 C. Store air-tight.

Variations:

Try cardamom in place of the cinnamon, add a drop of coconut extract to the dough. Nutella or any other kind of spread can be used as a filling too, but it does tend to dry out in the oven. Try a savory version too!