Carrot cake with pineapple-cheese cream

Ingredients:

Cakes

• 2 tbsp (30 g) butter
• 1.5 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup of rapeseed oil
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 3 cups premium flour
• 1.5 cups grated carrots
• 1.5 cups coconut flakes
• 1 cup chopped walnuts + extra for garnish
• 3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp almond extract
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 1 can (425g) of canned pineapple rings, drain the liquid into a separate container and set aside for the cream, cut the rings into 1cm pieces.

Cream

• 220 g of cream cheese at room temperature
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 4 tbsp (60 g) butter at room temperature
• 1/4 cup syrup from canned pineapple

Preparation:

1. Cakes: Preheat oven to 175°C. Grease two 22cm cake pans with butter.
2. Place the sugar, vegetable oil, brown sugar, and eggs in a large bowl and mix. Add the flour, carrots, coconut, walnuts, cinnamon, almond extract, baking powder, salt, and pineapple and mix again.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and place them on a baking sheet. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Transfer the cakes to a wire rack to cool completely, about 1 hour.
4. Cream: Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and pineapple juice. Mix until smooth.
5. Assembling the cake: Carefully remove the cooled cake layers from the pans. Using an offset spatula, spoon a small amount of frosting onto a cake stand and spread it to create a sticky base. Place one cake layer on the frosting on the cake stand. Spread a thick layer of frosting over it and place the second cake layer on top. Spread a generous layer of frosting over the top of the cake. Place a large dollop of frosting on the side of the cake and swirl the cake, spreading the frosting evenly over all sides. Decorate the cake with the remaining walnuts.