Sweet and spicy, Carrot Cake with Pineapple Sauce has an unusual twist: a bit of honey mustard mixed into the sauce! But, don’t worry, this cake doesn’t taste like dinner. The mustard adds just a hint of umami to the sauce – a little bit of savory flavor to balance the sweet pineapple.
Carrot cake is a rich and moist dessert that has a bit of a healthy take. If you want to intensify the carrot flavor, even more, you can roast the shredded carrots before mixing them into the cake. Removing any excess water in the carrots, it makes the flavor even more robust.
Many carrot cakes are served with a cream cheese frosting. In this take, a sweet and savory pineapple sauce is served on top. The sweet and acidic pineapple flavor is cut just a little bit with a touch of honey mustard, for a perfectly balanced topping.
Carrot Cake with Pineapple Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
Pineapple Sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 6 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 can (14 oz) crushed pineapple in juice
- 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
- 3 tablespoons Blues Hog Honey Mustard or honey mustard of choice
Carrot Cake
- non-stick spray oil for the baking pan
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups peeled and grated carrots
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 cup chopped candied or crystallized ginger optional
- whipped cream for serving
Equipment
- 8- by 8-inch (20- by 20cm) baking pan
Directions
Pineapple Sauce
- In a small saucepan, whisk together the cornstarch, brown sugar, pineapple with its juices, salt, and cayenne pepper until combined.
- Cook over low heat and allow the sauce to come to a gentle boil. Whisk in the honey mustard. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until the sauce is thickened and homogenous. Remove from the heat and keep warm.
Carrot Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8- by 8-inch baking pan with non-stick spray oil.
- In a large bowl, mix the oil, sour cream, brown sugar, and molasses together. Mix in the eggs, one at a time. Fold in the grated carrots.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, salt, and cloves. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in the ginger, if using.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes.
- Cut the cake into squares and serve with the pineapple sauce and whipped cream on top of each square.
Nutritional Information
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