Halloween: 'Spooky' carrot and pineapple cake

Planning a Halloween party later today? Wow your guests with this simple cake that looks like a Halloween pumpkin but is actually made with carrots and pineapples. 

Food blogger Landi Govender says she usually doesn't celebrate Halloween but couldn't resist putting this recipe together.

"I have to admit, I don't celebrate Halloween (as much as I love a fancy dress party) spooky just isn't my thing. So this year I decided to bake instead. I put my bundt pans to work for this one. This awesome spooky pumpkin is in fact a pinata cake filled to the brim with Nestle chocolate favourites," she says.

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Here's how she made the cake:

Ingredients

For the cake:

2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/3 cups vegetable oil
3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon sifted cake flour
2 teaspoons mixed spice
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup chopped cashews
450g carrots, grated
1/2 cup pureed fresh pineapple

For the frosting:

250g cream cheese, at room temperature
125g unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
250g icing sugar, sifted

For the decoration

Chopped pecan nuts and pineapple flowers

Directions

Preheat the oven to 190°

Butter one 18cm round cake pan. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Beat the sugar, oil, and eggs together in the bowl of an electric mixer until light yellow. Add the vanilla. In another bowl, sift together 2 1/2 cups flour, the mixed spice, baking soda, and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Mix in the cashews. Fold in the carrots and pineapple. Add to the batter and mix well.

Pour the batter equally into the lined pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely in the pans set over a wire rack.

For the frosting

Mix the cream cheese, butter and vanilla in the bowl of an electric mixer until just combined. Add the sugar and mix until smooth.

Frost cake only once completely cooled down. Decorate as desired.

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