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Carrot Pineapple Spice & Brownie Layer Cake with Whipped Cream & Cream Cheese Frosting and Marzipan Carrots

This is a fairly elaborate recipe (which is saying something coming from me, who likes to create complex things) that would make a great centerpiece for an Easter or Spring party. It is simplified from the original creation that Martha Stewart had created. You can certainly simplify it even more, by just making the carrot pineapple cake with the frosting and leave out brownie layer as well as the marzipan/coconut decorations. I’ve tinkered a lot with carrot cakes in the past and I think this might be my favorite carrot cake rendition so far. That said, I personally love the entire cake including the dense chocolate brownie cake layer so if you want to create something for a special occasion or want a “project” I wholeheartedly endorse this cake.

By eatthelove · From Open Recipes · 40 ingredients
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Carrot Pineapple Spice & Brownie Layer Cake with Whipped Cream & Cream Cheese Frosting and Marzipan Carrots

Why it works: Almond and sunflower match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 165 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Carrot Pineapple Spice & Brownie Layer Cake with Whipped Cream & Cream Cheese Frosting and Marzipan Carrots

one 3 layer cake
Prep3 hr
Cook2 hr

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1520Calories
34 gProtein
73 gFat
189 gCarbs

Counts 22 of 24 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 22 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Sunflower1 oz (28g) hulled165
Chocolate1 oz (28g) semisweet155
Olive Oil1 tbsp (14g)119
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Cream Cheese1 oz (28g)99
Pineapple1 cup chunks (165g)82
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Corn1/2 cup kernels (82g)77
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Almond1 almond (1.2g)7
Cloves1 tsp ground (2g)7
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Cardamom1 tsp ground (2g)6
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Allspice1 tsp ground (1.9g)5
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Beannot in our table0
Syrupnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By eatthelove. Recipe from Open Recipes.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Almond + sunflowertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together165 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Almond + vanillatop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,961 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  3. Carrot + sunflowertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together279 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Carrot + corntop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together794 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

  5. Almond + corntop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together485 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the carrot

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (almond, sunflower, vanilla, cream, sugar, corn):

  1. Sweet potatofits better
  2. Arrowrootfits better
  3. Beetrootfits better
  4. Carrotthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against almond, sunflower, vanilla, cream, sugar, corn. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.