Scone the Martyr

Sweet Sweet Food Porn

[sconethemartyr]

Maple Cinnamon Pumpkin Seeds

by:  Clean Eating Chelsea 

Makes: 2 cups  Difficulty: Easy  Prep Time: ~5 minutes  Cook Time: 40 minutes  Total Time: 45 minutes

2 cups raw pumpkin seeds, freshly scooped

2 tbsp. maple syrup

cinnamon to coat

1/2 tsp. salt

Directions: Start by washing your pumpkin seeds. Make sure all goop and gunk is off the seeds and thoroughly pat dry. Place the seeds in a mixing bowl and coat with the maple syrup, cinnamon, and salt. Toss so all seeds are covered with the mixture. Spray a lined baking sheet with cooking spray and make a single layer of seeds on the baking sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for 40 minutes or until a golden color. Let cool completely before breaking apart and storing in an airtight container.

[sconethemartyr]

Pumpkin Ravioli with Salted Caramel Whipped Cream

By: Christina Verrelli Devon, Pennsylvania

Prep Time: 1 Hr 10 Min Total Time: 1 Hr 10 Min Makes: 12 (2 ravioli each) servings

Ingredients 4 Tablespoons LAND O LAKES® Butter, melted 2 packages (3 oz each) cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup canned pumpkin 1 LAND O LAKES® Egg Yolk 1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Vanilla Extract 1/4 cup sugar 5 Tablespoons Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose Flour 1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Pumpkin Pie Spice 1/3 cup Fisher® Chef’s Naturals® Chopped Pecans, finely chopped 2 cans Pillsbury® Crescent Recipe Creations® refrigerated seamless dough sheet 1 cup heavy whipping cream 1/8 teaspoon salt 5 Tablespoons Hershey’s® caramel syrup 4 Tablespoons McCormick® Cinnamon Sugar

Instructions Heat oven to 375°F. Brush 2 large cookie sheets with 2 tablespoons of the melted butter. In large bowl, beat cream cheese and pumpkin with electric mixer on medium speed about 1 minute or until smooth. Add egg yolk, vanilla, sugar, 3 tablespoons of the flour and pumpkin pie spice; beat on low speed until blended. Reserve 4 teaspoons of the pecans; set aside. Stir remaining pecans into pumpkin mixture.

Lightly sprinkle work surface with 1 tablespoon of the flour. Unroll 1 can of dough on floured surface with 1 short side facing you. Press dough into 14×12-inch rectangle. With paring knife, lightly score the dough in half horizontally. Lightly score bottom half of dough into 12 squares (3×2 1/4-inch each). Spoon heaping tablespoon of the pumpkin filling onto center of each square.

Gently lift and position unscored half of dough over filling. Starting at the top folded edge, press handle of wooden spoon firmly between mounds and along edges of pumpkin filling to seal. Using toothpick, poke small hole in top of each ravioli. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut between each ravioli; place 1 inch apart on cookie sheets. Repeat with remaining 1 tablespoon flour, dough sheet and filling. Brush ravioli with remaining 2 tablespoons melted butter.

Bake 9 to 14 minutes or until golden brown.

Meanwhile, in medium bowl, beat whipping cream and salt with electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form. Beat in 2 tablespoons of the caramel syrup until stiff peaks form. Transfer to serving bowl; cover and refrigerate.

Remove ravioli from oven. Sprinkle ravioli with 2 tablespoons cinnamon sugar; turn. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon sugar.

To serve, place 2 ravioli on each of 12 dessert plates. Drizzle each serving with scant teaspoon of the caramel syrup; sprinkle with reserved chopped pecans. With spoon, swirl remaining 1 tablespoon caramel syrup into bowl of whipped cream. Serve warm ravioli with whipped cream.

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Posted by: Eatocracy Editors Filed under: Baked Goods • Contests • Events • Make • Recipes

[sconethemartyr]

Pumpkin Pie Bites

by: Bakerella

2 refrigerated ready-to roll pie crusts

8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature 1/2 cup sugar 1 cup canned pumpkin 3 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice Pumpkin-shaped cookie cutter

Optional 1/2 cup chocolate morsels vegetable oil re-sealable plastic bags

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Use cookie cutter to cut 12 pumpkin shapes from each pie crust. You will need to roll the dough thinner than it comes out of the box. Press dough shapes into a 24 cup mini muffin tray. (Make 12 at a time, alternating cups to make sure pie crusts don’t overlap each other.) Apply egg whites from one egg to the top edges of each pie. Mix cream cheese, sugar, canned pumpkin, remaining 2 eggs, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice together until thoroughly combined. Spoon mixture into each pumpkin-shaped pie crust. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Remove pies to cool and repeat with second pie crust. Place the muffin tray in the freezer to cool it quickly for re-use.

Makes 24 pies. Keep refrigerated.

To decorate, melt chocolate in a heat-proof bowl in the microwave on medium. Heat in 30 second intervals, stirring in between until melted. Add a little vegetable oil to make the chocolate more fluid. Transfer to a re-sealable plastic bag and cut the corner off. Drizzle or draw faces on pies.

Note: The cutter I used was 3 3/4 inches wide, but if you don’t have one, don’t worry. Just use a round cutter around that size or slightly smaller to cut circle shapes out of the dough. Then make stems with the scraps. Press each stem over the edge and down the side of the dough before filling.

Pumpkin pie spice is a mixture of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice.

[sconethemartyr]

Pumpkin Pie Cupcakes

Yields: 15 cupcakes

By: Une Dueux Senses

For the cupcakes:

1 3/4 cups cake flour

1 cups sugar

1/2 tbsn. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup or 1 stick unsalted butter, diced, at room temperature

1/2 cup milk, divided

2 large eggs

1 large egg white

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. cinnamon

For the graham cracker crust:

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

2 tbsn. light brown sugar

3 tbsn. unsalted butter, melted

For the pumpkin pie frosting:

2 large eggs, beaten

1 can (16 oz.) pureed pumpkin

2 tbsn. molasses

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 tbsn. flour

1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk

The "frosting" should be made first as it takes the longest to bake and needs to cool before using. Preheat the oven to 425 F. In a medium bowl, mix together all the filling ingredients until well combined. Pour the filling into a 9-inch round pan. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce to 350 F and continue cooking for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the filling comes out clean. Let cool completely before using.

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350 F. Line a cupcake pan with liners, set aside. Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Add the butter and 1/4 cup of milk. Mix on medium speed until smooth, about 4 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. In another bowl, blend the eggs, egg white, remaining 1/4 cup milk and vanilla. Add to the batter in 3 additions, mixing for 2 minutes on medium speed after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl in between additions. Set aside.

To make the crust, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter in a medium bowl and mix well. Add 1 tbsn. of the mixture into the bottom of each cupcake liner and bake for 5 minutes until the graham crackers are golden. Remove from the oven then fill about 1/2 full with the cake batter. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely. To frost, scoop the pumpkin pie "frosting" into a piping bag and pipe onto the cupcakes.

[sconethemartyr]

Pumpkin Marmalade

By: Better Homes and Gardens

ingredients

2 cups cooked fresh pumpkin puree or one 15-oz. can pumpkin

1 cup orange marmalade

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

2 tablespoons lemon juice

English cheddar cheese, white cheddar cheese, or Parmesan cheese (buy about 2 oz. for each person you'll be serving)

Assorted hearty breads

directions

In a medium saucepan combine cooked fresh pumpkin puree, marmalade, and ginger. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice. Transfer to a serving bowl. Cover and cool. Serve as a spread with cheese and bread. Makes about 3 cups or 24 (2-tablespoon) servings.

from the test kitchen

Storage Test Kitchen Tip:Spread will keep in the refrigerator up to 1 week.

[sconethemartyr]

Pumpkin Praline Trifle

By: Baker's Royale

Instructions:

Pumpkin Pudding:

1/3 cup cornstarch

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon  nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon cloves

Pinch of salt

3 cups cold whole milk

3/4 cups pumpkin pie filling

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Vanilla Pudding:

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon cornstarch

½ cup granulated sugar

Pinch of salt

3 cups cold whole milk

2 tablespoon vanilla extract

Praline Crumble:

1/2 cups toffee bits

1/2 cups granola

Instructions:

Pumpkin Pudding:

Combine cornstarch, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, salt and milk in a blender or food processor and pulse until well blended. Alternatively, combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk vigorously. Transfer mixture to a heat proof bowl and place over (not on) simmering water for approximately 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pudding is ready when mixture coats the back of the spoon.  Add pumpkin pie and stir to combine. Add vanilla and stir to combine.

Vanilla Pudding:

Combine cornstarch, sugar, salt and milk in a blender or food processor and pulse until well blended. Alternatively, combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk vigorously. Transfer mixture to a heat proof bowl and place over (not on) simmering water for approximately 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pudding is ready when mixture coats the back of the spoon. Add vanilla and stir to combine.

Praline Crumble:

Place toffee bits and granola in a bowl and mix to combine.

Assembly:

Fill pastry bags with each flavor of pudding.

Pipe a pumpkin layer onto bottom of glass.

Sprinkle praline mixture on top pumpkin layer.

Pipe vanilla pudding on top of granola and praline layer.

Continue layering by repeating steps 2-4.

[sconethemartyr]

Homemade Pumpkin Frozen Yogurt

by: The Family Kitchen

1 cup nonfat vanilla yogurt, strained

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Mix everything together in a large mixing bowl until completely combined. Churn the mixture in an ice cream maker for a few minutes until it is a smooth, cool consistency. Alternatively, place the bowl in the freezer and stir mixture every half hour until it reaches desired consistency.

[sconethemartyr]

Healthy Pumpkin Butter

by: Espresso and Cream Ingredients *28-ounces pumpkin puree *1 tablespoon ground cinnamon *1/2 teaspoon ground ginger *1/4 teaspoon nutmeg *1 tablespoon honey *1 tablespoon stevia or other natural sweetener

Instructions *Combine all the above ingredients in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly, until mixture is hot and cooked through. Be careful to stir frequently so as not to burn the pumpkin. Remove from heat and transfer to a sealed container. Refrigerate until ready to eat.

[sconethemartyr]

Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll

By: My Baking Addiction

YIELD: 9 servings

PREP TIME: 30 minutes plus rise time

COOK TIME: 25-30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

For the Dough

1 cup canned pumpkin or squash 2 large eggs 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup lukewarm water* 1/4 cup soft butter 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1 3/4 cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour 1/4 cup nonfat dry milk 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice 3 tablespoons brown sugar, light or dark 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons Red Star Quick Rise Yeast or instant yeast

*Adjust the amount of water by the time of year or your climate. For summer, or in a humid environment, use the lesser amount of water. In winter, or in a dry climate, use the greater amount. It's always best to start with the lesser amount; you can always add more. (I needed the full 1/4 cup in my rolls).

For the Filling

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice 1/2 cup chopped pecans

For the Frosting

4 ounces cream cheese, softened 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened 1/4 cup pure maple syrup (I used Grade A) 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted (see recipe notes) 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients together — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — until you've made a soft, fairly smooth dough. 2. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise for about 1 1/2 hours, until it's almost doubled in bulk. 3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface. Roll it into a 14" x 22" rectangle; the dough will be pretty thin. 4. Use a pastry brush to brush the melted butter onto the top of the dough. In a medium bowl, mix together the filling ingredients and sprinkle them onto the butter creating an even layer, leaving one short edge free of filling (about 1 inch). 5. Starting with the short end that's covered with filling, roll the dough into a log. 6. Cut the log into nine 1 ½"-thick rolls. 7. Place the rolls into a lightly greased 9" x 9" pan that's at least 2" deep. Set aside, covered, to rise for 1 hour, or until the rolls look puffy. 8. Bake the rolls in a preheated 375°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until they're lightly browned and feel set. Remove them from the oven, and set them on a rack. Turn them out of the pan, and allow them to cool for about 15 minutes. Towards the end of the cooling time, make the glaze. 9. To make the glaze: In a medium bowl with an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, butter, maple syrup, confectioners' sugar and pumpkin pie spice. Mix on low speed until thoroughly combined and creamy. Feel free to adjust the frosting to meet your needs. If you like a thinner frosting, add in a little milk (start with 1 teaspoon) and slowly increase until you reach the desired consistency. If you want it to be thicker, add in a little more confectioners' sugar.

NOTES:

- Feel free to adjust the frosting to meet your needs. If you like a thinner frosting, add in a little milk (start with 1 teaspoon) and slowly increase until you reach the desired consistency. - The pumpkin puree in these Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls make them a bit more dense when compared to a traditional cinnamon roll. - According to King Arthur Flour, you can substitute the White Whole Wheat Flour for All-Purpose, you will just need to decrease the amount of water needed by about 2 teaspoons. - If you are unsure what the dough should look like, definitely check out this post on KAF for an in-depth photo tutorial. -If you prefer more maple flavor in your frosting, just play around with the proportions until it meets your needs. -The frosting pictured above is a bit on the thick side because I made it the night before and refrigerated it until the next day. Ideally, it should be a bit thinner.

[sconethemartyr]

Ingredients

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/3 cup butter, softened

1 package 2-layer-size spice cake mix

2 eggs

1/2 cup milk

1 recipe Marshmallow-Spice Filling

directions

1.Preheat oven to 375 degree F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil (grease foil, if using). In a large mixing bowl beat pumpkin and butter with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add cake mix, eggs, and milk; beat on low speed until combined, and then on medium speed for 1 minute.

2.By the heaping tablespoon, drop mounds of batter 3 inches apart on cookie sheet; keep remaining batter chilled. Bake 15 minutes or until set and lightly browned around edges. Carefully remove from parchment or foil; cool on wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter, lining cooled cookie sheets each time with new parchment or foil. If desired, place cookies in a covered storage container with waxed paper between layers to prevent sticking. Store cookies at room temperature for 24 hours. Prepare Marshmallow-Spice Filling up to 2 hours before serving. Spread about 2-1/2 tablespoons filling on flat side of one cookie; top with a second cookie. Repeat. Serve immediately or cover and chill up to 2 hours. Makes 15 whoopies.

Marshmallow-Spice Filling ingredients

1/2 cup softened butter

1, 8 ounce package softened cream cheese

2 cups sifted powdered sugar

1/2 7 ounce jar marshmallow cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

directions

Up to 2 hours before serving, beat together butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add powdered sugar, marshmallow cream, vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Beat until well combined.

[sconethemartyr]

Ingredients: 1 pkg. Phyllo (filo/fillo/phylo) dough, defrosted 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling) 1 egg, beaten 1 cup white sugar (or half brown /half white) 1 tsp. Cinnamon ½ tsp. Cloves Fresh grated nutmeg to taste 1 cup chopped walnuts (optional) 1-2 sticks butter melted (alternately, ½ cup vegetable oil, warmed) Confectioner’s sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Lightly grease a cookie sheet. Open the package of phyllo dough, gently unfold it on a dishtowel covered with waxed paper, and cover it with a lightly dampened dishtowel until ready to use—this keeps it from drying out.

2. Melt the butter over low heat; alternately, warm the vegetable oil over low heat, taking care to keep it only warm, not hot. We warmed ours in the microwave.

3. In another pot, mix the pumpkin, the sugar, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg with a tablespoon of melted butter or oil—stir to combine.  Heat the mixture until the sugar is melted and incorporated, and all is the consistency of a somewhat dry pumpkin pie filling; let cool a bit, then mix the beaten egg in. At this point, stir in the walnuts if you are using them.

4. Have the phyllo facing lengthwise away from you. Take the towel off the phyllo, take the first two sheets, and fold them up and away from you about 2 inches or so.  Spread about 2 spoonfuls or so thinly across the phyllo–enough to cover the width of the phyllo you have folded, but leaving about a ½ inch border. Dip a spoon into the melted butter/oil and drizzle it across the phyllo sheets in front of the pumpkin. Gently take up the part with the pumpkin on it and roll it—like a jelly roll—just enough to enclose the pumpkin. Spread more filling thinly over the rest of the phyllo sheets (leaving a small border all around), drizzle more butter/oil, and roll up gently (not too tight) to the end. Place on the cookie sheet, and cover with a damp towel.

5. Repeat until all phyllo is used up. Brush finished pieces with melted butter/oil; bake 15-17 minutes until golden brown. Makes 8 Rolls.

Tip: If your phyllo begins to come apart as you are rolling, you may brush it with some butter/oil and patch it with another piece of phyllo—just roll it around the previous piece! Consider the butter/oil an “adhesive” in this case.

[sconethemartyr]

Sorry for the few days off Martyrs, but we are back to the 2 a day schedule and this week we are go HARDCORE PUMPKIN! Don't forget to photoreply with your own attempts at the recipes and send me mail. 

[sconethemartyr]

Clean Eating Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal (Makes 4 servings)

By: The Gracious Pantry

(Note: the egg whites were my addition in order to get more protein. They are optional.)

Ingredients 1 cup dry oats, cooked 1/2 cup pumpkin purée 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (no sugar added) 4 egg whites (optional) 1/4 cup pecans per serving Maple syrup to taste

Directions

Step 1 – Cook the oats according to package directions.

Step 2 – In the last 5 minutes of cooking (just take a guess, the oats should basically be pretty much done cooking), quickly stir in the eggs, being sure to stir vigorously so they get well-distributed. Then, stir in the pumpkin purée and pumpkin spice.

Step 3 – Put some oats in a bowl and top with pecans and maple syrup.

Eat and Enjoy!

[sconethemartyr]

Glazed Pumpkin Pound Cake

By: Lana's Cooking

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Yield: 16 servings

A rich, buttery pound cake with pumpkin and warm Fall spices.

Ingredients

Cake:

1 15-oz can pumpkin

¾ cup sugar

¾ cup packed dark brown sugar

½ cup butter, softened

4 eggs, room temperature

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

¾ cup buttermilk

Glaze:

1/3 cup buttermilk

¼ cup sugar

2 tblsp. butter

2 tsp. cornstarch

1/8 tsp. baking soda

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour a 10-inch tube or bundt pan.

Drain the pumpkin by spreading over two layers of paper towels. Cover with two additional layers of paper towels and let stand for about 10 minutes. Scrape the drained pumpkin into a bowl.

Add the sugar, dark brown sugar and butter to a large bowl.

Beat at medium speed for 3 minutes or until well blended.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each.

Beat in the pumpkin and vanilla.

Measure the flour by lightly spooning into a dry measure cup and leveling with a knife.

Using a whisk or fork, combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add the flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to the sugar mixture, beginning and ending with the flour.

Pour the batter into the prepared tube or bundt pan.

Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove cake from the pan and cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare the glaze, combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and drizzle over cake.

[sconethemartyr]

Query: If we scone the martyr, are we baking the martyr into a batch of scones a la Mrs. Lovett (cause that actually wouldn't work nearly as well as the meat pies idea), or are we hurling scones at the martyr? Follow up: If it's the latter, are they like Hagrid's rock cakes or are they beautiful, tender fruit-filled scones? I'm trying to decide if martyrdom is worth it, being pelted with scones would go a long way in it's favour. <3

to answer your question with another question, do not all scones become rigid whence set not in a basket with coverings but instead lackadaisically on the counter? Perhaps, when you treat scones with abandon and let them go stale, that is when we stone you with them. Or, perhaps Scone is a proper noun and died for our bakery sins.  

[sconethemartyr]

Cardamom Brown Sugar Cake

by: Adventures in Cooking

12 Ounces Cherries, pitted and cut in half (except for two for a garnish)

4 Eggs

2 and 1/4 Cups Flour

1 and 1/2 Cups Brown Sugar, packed

1 Cup Butter, softened

3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar

3/4 Cup Milk

2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cardamom

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 Teaspoon Salt

Rose Whipped Cream

2 Cups Cream

2 Tablespoons Powdered Sugar

1/2 to 1 Teaspoon Rose Water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, and cardamom until blended. Set it aside. Cream together the brown and granulated sugars and the butter in a large bowl. Add the eggs, one at a time, until completely combined. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and the milk until both and fully incorporated and a smooth batter forms. Evenly distribute the batter between 2 well-greased and lightly floured 8-inch and 2 well-greased and lightly floured 5-inch cake pans. Place the pans in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the pans and allow it to cool. Meanwhile, beat the whipped cream and the desired amount of rose water (more rose water = stronger rose flavor) until soft peaks form. Add the powdered sugar and beat until stiff peaks form. Cover and refrigerate until use.

[sconethemartyr]

Hawaiian Carrot Cake with Coconut Icing 

By: Sweetpolita

1 cup (250 mL) chopped canned pineapple

4 cups (1 L) grated carrot

2 1/2 cups (625 ml) all-purpose flour

1 tbsp (15 mL) baking powder

2 tsp (10 mL) baking soda

1 tsp (5 mL) salt

2 tsp (10 mL) cinnamon

1 tsp (5 mL) nutmeg

1 cup (250 mL) butter, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups ( 300 mL) golden brown sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp (10 mL) vanilla

1/2 cup (125 mL) milk

Coconut Icing

2 pkgs (250 g each) regular cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup (250 mL) butter, at room temperature

¼ cup (50 mL) sour cream or natural yogurt

1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla

2½ cups (625 mL) sifted icing sugar

1 cup (250 mL) sweetened flaked coconut

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Spray or oil two 9-inch (1.5-L) round cake pans.

2. Finely chop drained pineapple, place in a sieve and press with a spoon to remove as much juice as possible. Grate carrots using a food processor. Measure out 4 cups (1 L) and set aside. Place flour in a large bowl. Sprinkle with baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir until blended.

3. Place butter in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in sugar, then beat on medium for about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, then vanilla. Beating on low speed, add about a third of flour mixture and beat just until mixed, followed by half the milk. Repeat additions, ending with flour. Batter will be very thick. Gradually mix in pineapple and carrots.

4. Divide between pans. Spread to pan sides. To remove air pockets, bang pans on counter 5 to 6 times. Bake until centres seem set when lightly tapped, from 40 to 45 minutes. Place on a baking rack to cool. After about 15 minutes, turn cakes out of pans and cool completely on racks. It’s best to bake cakes a day ahead of icing and leave at room temperature overnight.

5. Cut cream cheese into chunks. Place butter in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy. Beat in sour cream and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and beat in cream cheese, piece by piece. Beating too much will cause thinning. Add about a third of the icing sugar and beat on low until just mixed in. Scrape sides of bowl and beaters occasionally. Gradually add remaining sugar, beating just until smooth. If too thick or thin, work in a little sour cream or sugar. Remove about a quarter of the icing to be used on top cake layer and set aside. Stir coconut into the remaining icing.

6. Slice cakes horizontally in half. Place top of 1 cake, dome-side down, on a platter. Spread with a third of the coconut icing leaving a narrow border of cake around edge. Lay the bottom of that cake, cut-side down, on top. Spread with half the remaining coconut icing, leaving a narrow cake border. Top with the bottom half of the second cake, cut-side down. Spread with the remaining coconut icing, leaving a cake border. Top with the final layer, cut-side down. Spread with plain icing right to the edges. Garnish with toasted, fresh coconut. Best to refrigerate several hours or overnight before serving.