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Zucchini Carrot Cake with Pineapple Flowers

Taking a simple but delicious tender cake filled with zucchini, carrot, and green apple, and dressing it up with homemade pineapple flowers. Now it is a showstopper, with very little effort!

Course Dessert
Cuisine North American
Keyword carrots, granny smith apple, pineapple, zucchini
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Servings 10

Ingredients

Zucchini Carrot Cake

  • 2 cups (300 g) AP flour, (can also be a gluten free cup for cup blend)
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup kefir or buttermilk
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil: canola, sunflower or grapeseed
  • 1 cup (225 g) sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups (245 grams) shredded zucchini, carrots, and green or Granny Smith apple, see Notes
  • 1 cup (100 grams) shredded coconut, it can be sweetened or unsweetened, your call, I use sweetened
  • 1 cup (120 grams) pecans or walnuts, chopped small
  • 3/4 cup (170 grams) crushed pineapple and juice

Spiced Cream Cheese Icing

  • 3-3 1/2 cups (390-455 g) Icing sugar, whisked or run through a sieve to remove any lumps
  • 1 8- oz (250 grams) packaged cream cheese, softened to room temperature and cubed
  • 1/2 cup (110 grams) butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tbsp milk, as needed

Pineapple Flowers

  • 1/2 of a large pineapple

Instructions

Zucchini Carrot Cake

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour two 8 or 9-inch round spring form pans. Alternatively try lining the bottom with parchment paper. I do this by layering the parchment on top of the bases, and then secure the sides and clamp, trapping the paper inside and outside the pan. This makes for easy removal once the cakes have cooled.
  2. In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, cardamom and cinnamon and salt.
  3. In a large bowl combine the eggs, kefir, oil, sugar and vanilla. Add flour mixture to the bowl. Mix until all incorporated.
  4. In a medium bowl combine the shredded zucchini, carrots and apple, coconut, walnuts, and pineapple.
  5. Using a large wooden spoon, stir the carrot mixture into the egg and flour mixture, Fold in well.
  6. Pour into prepared pans. Tap the pans on the counter to release any air bubbles.
  7. Bake until a skewers comes out clean, about 50 minutes to one hour, depending on your oven. Start checking after 45 minutes. Timing will be affected by the size of pans you are using.
  8. Allow to cool completely on rack before icing. I actually chill the rounds in the fridge, even overnight.

Spiced Cream Cheese Icing

  1. In a stand mixer add the cream cheese, butter, spices and vanilla extract. Mix until completely smooth. Add the icing sugar 1/2 cup at a time. Stop when you have enough or it is sweet enough for your liking. If it is too thick use the milk to thin it out.
  2. Wait until cake is completely cool to ice.
  3. After chilling properly, it will be easy to cut away any domed part of the cake with a serrated knife. This will ensure that you have smooth, level surfaces to ice and layer. Save the scraps for snacking on while you ice the cake the way you desire. You can do a simple, naked approach, but there is enough icing to cover the entire cake.
  4. Chill before serving. In the meantime, make the pineapple flowers.

Pineapple Flowers

  1. Preheat the oven to 200F.
  2. Using a sharp knife, trim away the top and bottom of the pineapple. Slice away all the exterior of the pineapple, including any brown eyes that may be left behind. Depending on how many flowers you are wanting to make, you will probably only need 1/3-1/2 of the pineapple.
  3. Do not core the middle. This is necessary to hold the flowers together as they dry out in the oven.
  4. Using a mandolin, slice the pineapple into 1/8th thick rounds, by pressing firmly as you push the pineapple. If you don't have a mandolin, you can use a sharp knife and a steady hand. You really don't want anything thicker that 1/8 inch (you should be able to see the knife through the slice) since it will affect how well they dry out in the oven, and how delicate the frilly edge will become. Don't worry, some will turn out, others will be for smoothies!

  5. Place the rounds on paper towel, and dry the tops with more paper towel. Press firmly to remove as much moisture as possible. Place the rounds onto cooling racks set over baking sheets. Make sure none are touching or hanging over the edges.

  6. Bake in the lower third of the oven for 2 1/2-3 hours. Remove the baking sheets from the oven after 1 hour, and carefully peel the rounds off the cooling racks and turn over. Repeat every 1/2 hour after this, depending on your oven. They should be dried out, only ever so slightly tacky. Remove them carefully and immediately place them into mini muffin tins, pushing down on the centre of the pineapple flower causing the edges to become frilly. Turn off the oven but place the muffin tins inside. Let them dry this way for over night.

  7. Do not place into a sealed container, as this will cause them to soften and flop. Transfer them to a cooling rack, to continue allowing the air to circulate around them, till needed.

Recipe Notes

For the shredded veggies, you can use any combination of zucchini, carrot and green apple, as long as the amount equals the final two cups. I use the smaller holes of my box grater for the zucchini and carrot, but the larger holes for the apple. Feel free to use this template for just carrot or zucchini.
If making a simple cake (ie only using one round and freezing the other round) you can reduce the icing by half.
For the pineapple flowers, make a few more flowers than you think you will need (10-12 for the top of a large cake) since you may need backups for any that tear etc while drying out.
Use the remaining pineapple for smoothies.