Finally getting my feet wet with the whole made-to-order market last week. I had the pleasure of baking a birthday cake for one of my customers from the first Greenpoint Food Market.  I whipped up my pineapple-zucchini cake at her (husband’s) request with a ginger-walnut cream cheese frosting.  The recipe is posted below, but take note of a few key add-ons:

1) After baking the cake I allowed the layers to cool then removed them from their respective pans, placed them on parchment paper on a cookie sheet and put them back in the oven at 350 for another 7 minutes.  This is an incredibly moist cake, the extra 7 minutes will give it more stability to stand up to the frosting.

2) Between the two layers I spread a liberal amount of frosting and then a layer of crushed walnuts.  Again this was for both taste and to help hold the layers together.  I also covered the sides of the cake with crushed walnuts, for decorative and stability purposes.

3) Being that it is Autumn, in lieu of fresh flowers I decorated the cake with thin slices of natural ginger and dried cranberries.

All-in-all it was a success!

Zucchini Pineapple Cake with Walnut Cream Cheese Frosting*

*Recipe is for 1 13”x9” sheet cake, double it for 8” layer cake.

Cake

• 1 1/2 cup Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Baking Flour
• 1-¼ cup Granulated Sugar
• 1/2 Cup Flaked Coconut
• 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Xanthan Gum
• 2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
• Freshly Grated Nutmeg, To Taste
• 1 Pinch Ginger
• 3 Tablespoons Apple Sauce
• 2 whole Large Eggs
• 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
• 2 Cups Grated (unpeeled) Zucchini (pat dry between paper towels)
• 1 (20 Oz.) Can Crushed Pineapple In Juice, Drained (reserve for frosting)

Frosting

• 4 Tablespoons Butter, Softened
• 8 Ounces Low-fat Cream Cheese, Softened (can Use Full-fat Cream Cheese)
• 3 Cups Powdered Sugar, Approx.
• ½ teaspoon Xanthan Gum
• 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 tsp Powdered Ginger
• Splash of Pineapple Juice
• ¾ cup Chopped Walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cake, combine flour, sugar, coconut, baking soda, salt, xanthan gum and spices in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Combine apple sauce, eggs, and vanilla; stir well. Stir egg mixture, grated zucchini, and pineapple into flour mixture.  Add in a little splash of the pineapple juice for good measure. Spoon batter into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake at 350° for about 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, xanthan gum, ginger and vanilla just until smooth. Add a splash of pineapple juice and stir in chopped walnuts. Spread frosting over top of cake. You can garnish with chopped walnuts, cranberries, or ginger etc.