Pineapple Butternut Cake

Pineapple Butternut Cake 

• 2 cups (500 g) cubed butternut
• 2¾ cups (375 g) cake flour
• 2½ cups (500 g) white sugar
• 1½ t bicarbonate of soda
• 2 t baking powder
• 1 T ground cinnamon
• ½ t ground cloves
• ½ t ground (or grated fresh) nutmeg
• ¼ t salt
• 1½ cups vegetable oil
• 5 eggs
• 2 t vanilla essence
• 1¼ cups (280 g) crushed pineapple (this is 1 x 400g can, drained of fluid)
• 1½ cups pecan nuts, roughly chopped

Lemon cream-cheese icing

• 500g (2 tubs) smooth cream cheese, at room temperature
• 180g butter, at room temperature
• 1½ cups (200g) icing sugar, sifted
• 2 t vanilla essence
• 1 T lemon juice
• grated zest of ½ lemon
• pecan nuts and lemon zest for decorating

*** 

• Steam the butternut until soft. Drain, then purée (or mash) until smooth. Set aside to cool.
• Preheat your oven to 180°C. Grease and flour two 23–27cm cake tins.
• Sift together the flour, sugar, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, spices and salt.
• In a separate large bowl, whisk together the oil, eggs and vanilla essence.
• Gradually beat the flour mixture into the egg mixture.
• Add the butternut purée, pineapple and pecans. Mix well.
• Divide the batter between the prepared tins. Bake for 50–60 minutes, or until a skewer poked into the cake comes out clean. This cake is moist, but make sure it is cooked through.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool before turning the cakes out onto a wire rack.
• To make the icing, beat together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
• Beat in the icing sugar, followed by the vanilla essence and lemon juice. Fold in the lemon zest.
• Refrigerate for 20 minutes before using.
• Spread the lemon cream-cheese icing on top of each cooled cake.
• Stack the two cakes (or serve as two single-layer cakes), then decorate with pecan nuts and lemon zest.
• Refrigerate before serving.

*** 

Recipe by Lindy Truswell, cake by Verushka Louw. 

Tips

• To spice things up, add small pieces of candied ginger to the cake decoration.
• Both the cake and the icing freeze well. But freeze separately, storing the cake in plastic and the icing in a sealed tub. When you are ready to serve, allow both to come to room temperature before icing the cake.

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021-12-14-tannie-marias-love-advice-and-recipe-column-pineapple-butternut-cake/