14 Carat Cake

Servings: 12

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1½ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1½ cups vegetable oil

2 cups grated raw carrots (about 3 medium carrots)

1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained

½ cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together first five ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat eggs with wire whisk. Add sugar and beat until dissolved. Add remaining ingredients. Mix well.

Turn into three greased and floured 9-inch cake pans. Bake for 34 to 40 minutes, until done.

Cool in pans 10 minutes. Invert onto racks to cool completely.

Frost with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting between layers on top and sides.

½ cup butter or margarine, softened

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 pound confectioners’ sugar

Combine butter, cream cheese and vanilla in mixing bowl and blend until smooth.

Add sugar gradually until well incorporated.

Ingredients and baking time

• I used White Lily All-Purpose Flour for this cake, measured by spooning the flour into a measuring cup, then leveling with the flat end of a knife.

• Use large eggs.

• Use granulated sugar.

• A food processor fitted with a fine shred blade works well for grating the carrots.

• If you don’t want the pineapple in your cake layers to be conspicuous, chop the drained, crushed pineapple a bit more before mixing it into the batter.

• Chopped walnuts are nice in this cake.

• My layers were done in 25 to 30 minutes.

• An electric mixer, set to medium speed, was used for mixing the frosting until it was smooth and well combined.

• The frosting ingredients were doubled in order to provide the cake with a “crumb coat” base (see following notes) and for decorating the cake.

• Leftover frosting may be frozen in an airtight container for up to three months.

More in Life

tease
Peppermint patties and a Charlie Brown tree

These icy mints are a nostalgic treat perfect for spreading holiday cheer

File
Minister’s Message: The song of the season

There is another song of the season that the Gospel writer Luke records in the first chapter of his book

Keanu Reeves is Shadow the Hedgehog in “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.” (Promotional photo courtesy Paramount Pictures)
On the Screen: ‘Sonic 3’ brings craft, stakes to colorful kid’s movie

When I was a kid, in the early 2000s, Sonic the Hedgehog was a pretty big deal

Paetyn Wimberly performs “The Christmas That I Know” during the 23rd Annual Christmas Lights and Holiday Nights Skating Recital at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Skating in the park with Santa

The Soldotna Parks and Recreation Department will host another holiday open skate on Tuesday, Dec. 31

AnnMarie Rudstrom, dressed as the Ghost of Christmas Present, reads Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” at The Goods in Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Reading of ‘A Christmas Carol’ warms a winter night at The Goods

The full text of the book was read live at the store across two weeks

tease
Baking family history

This recipe is labeled “banana fudge,” but the result is more like fudgy banana brownies

tease
Off the Shelf: Nutcracker novel sets a darker stage

“The Kingdom of Sweets” is available at the Homer Public Library

Nick Varney
Unhinged Alaska: The little tree that could

Each year I receive emails requesting a repeat of a piece I wrote years ago about being away from home on Christmas.

The mouth of Indian Creek in the spring, when the water is shallow and clear. By summertime, it runs faster and is more turbid. The hand and trekking pole at lower left belong to Jim Taylor, who provided this photograph.
The 2 most deadly years — Part 6

The two most deadly years for people on or near Tustumena Lake were 1965 and 1975

Most Read