SILVER PALATE CARROT CAKE

Silver Palate Carrot Cake

Author: Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins

Makes: Serves 10 to 12

Ingredients

Cake:

• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 ½ cups corn oil
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1½ cups shelled walnuts, chopped
• 1½ cups shredded coconut
• 1⅓ cups puréed cooked carrots
• ¾ cup drained crushed pineapple

Frosting:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 6 tablespoons sweet butter, at room temperature
• 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Juice of ½ lemon (optional)

Instructions

• For the cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 9-inch layer cake pans lined with wax paper.
• Sift dry ingredients into a bowl. Add oils, eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Fold in walnuts, coconut, carrots and pineapple.
• Pour batter into prepared pans. Set on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until edges have pulled away from sides and a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.
• Cool on a cake rack for 3 hours.
• For the frosting: Cream together cream cheese and butter in a mixing bowl.
• Slowly sift in confectioners’ sugar and continue beating until fully incorporated. Mixture should be free of lumps.
• Stir in vanilla, and lemon juice if you use it.
• Fill cake and frost sides with cream-cheese frosting. Dust top with confectioners’ sugar

Bakepedia Tips

• We used canola oil instead of the corn oil for a lighter flavor.
• We started with 1½ cups walnut halves (shelled), then chopped them. Pecans work well, too.
• Since sweetened long-shred coconut was the typical coconut available at the time of the recipe’s creation, that’s what we used. It is also easy to find in most supermarkets.
• We started with 1 pound of peeled “baby” carrots and simmered them in 1 1/2 cups of water until fork tender. Then we puréed them in a food processor fitted with a metal blade. You will probably have extra, but better than not enough.
• We chose to use pineapple packed in juice as opposed to sugar syrup for a fresher fruit flavor.
• Our cakes took almost 45 minutes to bake. You might try baking this at 325°F for more even baking as the cake is very dense.
• We did add the lemon juice to the frosting.
• The recipe offers no storage recommendations. We found that the cake lasted at room temperature under a cake dome for 2 days. Refrigerated, you might get an extra day, but bring to room temperature before serving.