Pumpkin Pineapple Walnut Cake
Pineapple Pumpkin Walnut Cake
This cake resembles a spicy carrot cake. You can modify the sugars to your own taste – more brown or darker brown for more molasses flavor. If you really love the cream cheese frosting, just double that recipe for a taller layer of frosting. The pumpkin puree can either be homemade or canned. You may also want to modify the spices to your taste… some prefer more spice than others.
Cake Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups walnuts
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1.5 cups sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1.5 TBSP cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- pinch of allspice
- 1.25 cups canola oil
- 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 TBSP real vanilla extract
- 1.5 cups pumpkin puree
- 3/4 cup drained crushed pineapple
- 1 cup golden raisins (optional)
- 1 cup shredded coconut
Frosting
- 3 ounces cream cheese (room temp)
- 3 TBSP unsalted butter (room temp)
- 1.5 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tsp real vanilla extract
- 3 TBSP milk
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. LIghtly butter a 9 x 13 baking pan. Line w/ parchment paper along the bottom and sides.
Bake walnuts in a small pan until just lightly toasted (10 minutes) then chop.
In a large mixing bowl, stir flour, sugars, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice. Add the oil, eggs and vanilla. Beat using mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the pumpkin and pineapple. Mix lightly until just combined. Using a spatula, fold in the walnuts and coconut… and raisins if you used them.
Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan and smooth the top using a spatula. Bake about 1 to 1.25 hours until it is firm in the center or until a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer from pan to a wire rack and allow to cool at least 10 minutes.
Frosting:
Beat cream cheese and butter until creamy. Add confectioners’ sugar, vanilla and a little of the milk at a time to make the frosting creamy. Spread frosting on cooled cake.
I made this delicious cake this weekend. As for the frosting, I too doubled it, AND added milk 1 TBSP at a time…it hardly needed any milk, I found. Also since it is such a big heavy cake with perishable frosting..I stored it in the fridge over the couple of days of devouring it.