Sunday, December 11, 2011

Pineapple Zucchini Sheet Cake

1 cup Flour
½ cups Whole Wheat Flour (You Can Use All White Flour If You Don't Have This)
1-¼ cup Sugar
½ cups Sweetened, Flaked Coconut
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
¼ teaspoons Freshly Grated Nutmeg, Or More To To Taste (optional)
1 pinch Ginger (optional)
3 Tablespoons Canola Oil
2 whole Large Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 cups Grated (unpeeled) Zucchini (See Note Below)
1 can (20 Oz. Size) Crushed Pineapple In Juice, Drained (Reserve Juice In Case You Need It For The Cake Batter Or The Frosting)
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FOR THE FROSTING:
2 Tablespoons Butter, Softened
1 package (8 Oz. Size) Low-fat Cream Cheese, Softened (You Can Use Full-fat Cream Cheese)
2 cups Powdered Sugar, More Or Less As Needed
2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
Splash Of Milk Or Pineapple Juice, If Necessary
Chopped Walnuts Or Pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.
To prepare cake, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, sugar, coconut, baking soda, salt, and spices in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk.
Combine oil, eggs, and vanilla; stir well. Stir egg mixture, grated zucchini, and pineapple into the flour mixture. Batter will be stiff and dry but keep folding it and it will all come together. If it still seems too dry, just add a little splash of the pineapple juice.
Spoon batter into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350°F for about 33–35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs and cake is pulling away from sides of pan. Cool completely on a wire rack.
To prepare frosting, combine butter and cream cheese in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla just until smooth. Add a splash of milk or pineapple juice if necessary. Spread frosting over top of cake. You can garnish with chopped pecans or walnuts, if desired.
Notes : If your zucchini are huge, scrape the seeds out of the center before you shred it so it’s not too watery. Also, I spread it all out on layers of paper towel to drain it and dry it off a bit. Then I measure out 2 cups. I’m not sure if this is critical, though. Nuts can also be added to the cake batter if desired. This recipe makes a very generous amount of frosting.

*This recipe can be turned into a Carrot Cake just by substituting shredded carrots for the zucchini.

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