A cuppa tea and a slice of cake sound like the perfect way to celebrate, so I wanted to share this delicious Carrot Pineapple Walnut Cake for a very special occasion!
Bell Tea is celebrating their 120th Birthday!! It is such a Kiwi institution I was delighted to have been asked to share a special recipe that I think would both go well with a cuppa and the perfect treat to celebrate with!
The origins of Carrot Cake date back over 150 years ago with the carrot being used during times when sugar and other staples were expensive. It seems to really originate to medieval times as a carrot pudding. Tea of course predates this by thousands of years. Here in New Zealand Bell began with the original brew in 1898, they have perfected this and added to the range over the years. Most Kiwi households will have a box in the cupboard!
Having a cuppa is about as Kiwi as it gets. It seems to solve all manner of problems, brings people together and is the perfect thing when you need a bit of comfort or to warm up on a cold day. We are big tea drinkers here but we go for the herbal and fruit teas. The kids love fruit teas in the summer and we often have a jug made up in the fridge, we love the Orange & Mango. A lovely refreshing drink without all the sugar!
This Carrot Cake is a rich, decadent, deep blend of flavours that I think pairs beautifully with a cup of tea. Just a few simple steps to create the cake, the combination of pineapple, walnut and carrot is beautiful. It is a cake that gets better every day and keeps well in the freezer uniced if you wished to make it ahead of time.
I have a few carrot cakes on the blog, this one is not as heavy as the other I usually make. Like many of you I love to use a cream cheese icing to finish it off. There are a few ways to make this icing, for me I use cream cheese, butter, icing sugar and vanilla. The more butter you add the thicker the icing will be, and is perfect if you wish to create a thick layer or for piping. I will share both recipes below.
The method is super simple, I find I use a few bowls making this one, but it is definitely worth it in the end. No butter means you can make this one dairy free, you will just need an alternative to the frosting that works best for you. I use crushed pineapple as it provides a lovely flavour and texture without big chunks, but feel free to use what you have on hand.
The sugar can also be whatever you have, I use a combination of white sugar and raw sugar, but again if you only have white use that!
Pin It – Just A Mum’s Carrot Pineapple Walnut Cake
So without further ado, onto the recipe.
Delicious Carrot, Pineapple & Walnut Cake
Moist, rich, easy and delicious. You will love this version of carrot cake. Sure to be a crowd pleaser!
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 Cups Grated Carrot (about 3 whole carrots)
- 1 1/2 Cups Walnut pieces
- 1 Cup Diced Pineapple, fresh or canned (I used crushed pineapple, drained)
- 2 Cups Plain White Flour, Divided - 1/2 a Cup initially then remaining 1 1/2 cups
- 2 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
- 2 teaspoon Baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 4 Eggs
- 1 1/2 cups Sugar (I used white for 1 cup & 1/2 cup Raw, all white is fine though)
- 1 1/2 cups Vegetable Oil (I used Canola)
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 100 grams Butter, room temp
- 100 grams Cream Cheese, room temp
- 2 Cups Icing Sugar, sifted
- 1-2 teaspoons vanilla to taste
Instructions
Preheat Oven to 180C (350F)
Grease and line the base of a 23 cm cake tin (9in) and set aside
Combine carrot, walnut, pineapple & first 1/2 Cup of flour in a medium to large sized bowl.
Mix well and set aside.
In a second large bowl prepare your dry ingredients, the remaining 1 1/2 cups of flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda and salt. Blend well and set aside.
Using a food mixer or electric beater in a medium bowl combine the eggs and sugar and lightly mix together.
Slowly pour in the oil beating all the time, until it begins to emulsify. It will change colour and become smooth as all the sugar is blended in.
Finally add to the flour the egg mixture and carrot/walnut mixture and mix until just combined.
Spoon the batter into the prepared cake tin
Bake for 45-65 minutes. As oven temperatures and tin sizes vary begin to check the cake at 45 minutes. It may take up to 20 minutes longer. The cake is ready once a knife or skewer comes out clean and springs back to a light touch.
Allow the cake to cool in the cake tin for at least 20 minutes before carefully removing and cooling completely on a wire rack.
Once cool ice with Cream Cheese Frosting, slice and serve.
Best stored in the fridge. Uniced cake and be frozen.
!Cream Cheese Frosting
For a lovely thick frosting use recipe above, for a thinner version use 60 grams of butter only, same method.
I use my food mixer for this.
In a large food mixer bowl add the butter and beat for 4 minutes until pale and creamy
Add the cream cheese and combine well
Add to this the icing sugar and vanilla and mix gently until completely combined
Spread over cooled cake
Decorate with walnuts, pumpkin seeds, freeze dried raspberries or other of your choice.
Slice and Enjoy!
Thank you so much for stopping by to check out these topping ideas and others on my blog. If you are not already be sure to follow me on Facebook or Instagram for more deliciousness, and you can register your email in the subscription box below to receive all my recipes as I publish them.
Happy Baking!
Anna
Ian says
I have made this three times it is so good. But I swapped out the pineapple for dates soaked in hot water. So moist and full of flavour. Thanks for your great website. My partner thinks I’m having an affair with a NZ mum.
justamumnz says
Ha ha I’ll let my husband know! I’m so pleased you are enjoying the recipes, thank you so much for the feedback.
Maria says
Can I make it without pineapple? I don’t have any at hand right now. Thanks!
justamumnz says
I wouldn’t recommend it as it makes up a whole cup of ingredients and moisture. Try this recipe instead https://justamumnz.com/2014/09/18/jennys-carrot-cake/
Maree says
I just made this recipe. It’s a keeper, the cake is so soft and moist. I have been looking for a carrot recipe for a while and now I finally found one. Thank you
Marion N Whitford says
Hi! Love your recipes and look forward to trying this one. Curious to know, why do you always list all of your ingredients in imperial measurement, except for your butter, listed in metric/grams? Thanks!!!
justamumnz says
Hi. I’m based in New Zealand and here we use cups (250mls) and tablespoons for measuring and grams for butter. Now my site is reaching a wider worldwide audience I’m trying to add grams as I go as this is a more universal measurement. Hope this helps explain.
Angelika Valencia says
I have never made a Carrot cake in my life….. I made this one…. it was fabulous. Everyone loved it. This recipe is a keeper. It was moist and so fluffy…. when I made it I did post a picture of it….. Excellent recipe,thank you so much for sharing.
Rita Romeo says
It was the best cake I’ve ever made, so moist and tasty. Everyone loved it.
justamumnz says
I am so pleased to hear that! Thank you for the feedback.