I made this cake for my mother-in-law’s 78^th birthday. I wasn’t sure quite what to expect – would it taste more like chocolate cake? Carrot cake? What would the pineapple do to the flavour? In the end, the verdict is that it tastes as it’s called. A chocolate (pause) Carrot Cake. It’s moist, dense, cakey, and the chocolate glaze is the perfect touch. I will definitely make this recipe again.

(I didn’t get as good of a picture as I usually do because it was made in a hurry before needing to send it off to Grandma’s house).

Ingredients:

• 1 can crushed pineapple (14 oz), drained (reserve 1/2 cup of the juice)
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg (optional)
• 1 cup oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups finely shredded carrots

Dark chocolate glaze

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 3 tbsp cocoa
• 2-3 tbsp boiling water

Yield: 1 ring cake (approx. 10-12 servings)

Preheat oven to 350^o.

Drain pineapple, reserving 1/2 cup juice and set aside.

In your stand mixer bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg (if using). Add oil then each egg, one at a time. Add in the pineapple juice and vanilla. Combine on low speed until just blended, scraping down the bowl occasionally.

Increase speed to medium; beat 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in carrots and reserved pineapple. Pour batter into greased 10” tube pan. Bake for 60-65 minutes or until done. Cool 10 minutes in pan; remove from pan and cool completely. Frost with dark chocolate glaze.

Dark Chocolate Glaze:

To prepare the glaze, sift together the icing sugar and cocoa powder. Add 2-3 tbsp boiling water and spoon over the cake so that the glaze just runs down the sides.