Carrot Cake With Pineapple And Vanilla Mascarpone Icing

This single layer simple carrot cake with pineapple is moist, light and perfectly suited for snacking. A flavorful vanilla and citrus spiked mascarpone icing crowns this carrot cake for a delicious and creamy finish! This recipe is vegetarian with a dairy free option. This single layer carrot cake is easy to pull together since it’s made with a bowl and spoon, and there’s no cake layers to ice. Mascarpone is a creamy, soft cheese perfectly suited for icing this simple carrot cake recipe. It has a silkier and softer texture than cream cheese with a little bit less tang. Because it’s so soft, I mix it in a bowl with a spatula, add vanilla beans, powdered sugar and orange zest. Talk about easy! This lightly sweetened icing is a creamy contrast to the carrot cake and it’s super simple to pull together. Slather the mascarpone icing over the top of the cake, or dollop it on individual pieces just before serving.

This moist carrot cake freezes beautifully, iced or uniced. Simply allow the cake to cool completely, freeze the cake or individual pieces on a sheet pan and once frozen wrap snugly in plastic wrap or lidded storage container. Store in freezer then thaw at room temperature for about 2 hours before enjoying. If iced, take the plastic wrap off before thawing so the icing doesn’t stick.

Fresh ingredients and just a little prep will ensure perfect carrot cake every time.

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

• 1 C (127g) Shelled, Whole Pecans or Walnuts divided
• 1 1/4 C (175g) Unbleached All Purpose Flour
• 1 Tbs Corn Starch
• 1/2 tsp Fine Sea Salt
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg
• 1/3 C (65g) Dark Brown Sugar packed
• 1/3 C (75g) Granulated Cane Sugar
• 3/4 C (150g) Canola Oil or melted Coconut Oil, warm to the touch
• 2 Large Eggs room temperature*
• 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 C (130g) Drained Crushed Pineapple press through a stainer to drain throughly
• 1 1/4 C (160g) Packed Finely Shredded Carrots from about 2 large carrots

For the Icing:

• 16 oz (450g) Mascarpone Cheese 2, 8 oz tubs
• 1/4 C + 2 Tbs (45g) Powdered Sugar
• Vanilla Beans Scraped from One Vanilla Bean Pod
• Orange Zest from one large orange, two if you have it.