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Recipe Detail Page
Morning Glory Cake
Summer 2021
Morning glory muffins, chock full of good-for-you ingredients, were created at a café on Nantucket Island in the ’70s. The recipe made it to Gourmet magazine, where it has been chosen as one of their 25 favourite recipes from the past 50 years. We’ve updated this winning recipe, translating it to cake form, so you only deal with two cake pans versus multiple muffin cups. Of course, we had to finish with a cream cheese frosting, essential for any carrot cake. But we upped the ante with a soupçon of orange liqueur.
Serves 12
Spray oil
1 can (398 mL) crushed pineapple
1 1/2 cups (375 mL) grated carrots
1 apple, peeled
1/2 cup (125 mL) chopped pecans
1/2 cup (125 mL) golden raisins
1/2 cup (125 mL) sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut
2 1/2 cups (625 mL) all-purpose flour
2 tbsp (30 mL) baking powder
1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda
3 tsp (15 mL) cinnamon
1 tsp (5 mL) each ground nutmeg and salt
2/3 cup (150 mL) canola oil
4 eggs
2 tsp (10 mL) vanilla
1 cup (250 mL) golden yellow sugar
1 cup (250 mL) buttermilk
ORANGE LIQUEUR ICING
2 pkgs (each 250 g) brick-style cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup (250 mL) butter, at room temperature
3 tbsp (45 mL) orange liqueur (optional)
1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla
2 1/2 cups (625 mL) sifted icing sugar, divided, plus more if needed
Milk, if needed
GARNISH
Whole pecan halves or toasted coconut
1. Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Position the oven rack in the middle of the oven.
2. Spray or lightly oil two 9-inch (1.5-L) round cake pans. Line the bottom of each with parchment paper. Place a sieve in a bowl and turn pineapple into the sieve. Press down firmly on pineapple to remove excess juice. Transfer pineapple to a large bowl. Use the juice for drinking. Add carrots to pineapple. Grate apple using the coarse side of a box grater. Place in a sieve and press down firmly to remove juice; discard juice. Add grated apple to pineapple mixture. Stir in pecans, raisins and coconut until ingredients are distributed.
3. Place flour in a large bowl. Sprinkle with baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Whisk to evenly blend. Make a well in the centre.
4. In a medium-size bowl, whisk oil with eggs and vanilla. Gradually whisk in the sugar until the batter is thick and no lumps of sugar remain. Whisk in buttermilk. Batter will be thick. Pour into well in flour mixture. Whisk just until no streaks of flour remain. Pour over the carrot mixture and use a large spatula to mix.
5. Divide batter between prepared pans. Spread fairly evenly. To remove air pockets, bang pans on the counter 5 or 6 times. Bake until centres seem set when lightly tapped, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove pans to a wire rack. After 10 minutes, run a small knife all around the edges between the pan and the cake. Turn cakes out of pans and set them on a rack to cool completely. It’s best to make cakes a day before icing and leave them at room temperature overnight.
6. For the icing, cut cream cheese blocks into 8 pieces each. Place butter in a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually beat in orange liqueur and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and beat in cream cheese piece by piece, just until no lumps remain. Beating too long will cause thinning. Add about one-third of the icing sugar and beat on low just until mixed in. Scrape sides of bowl and beaters occasionally. Gradually beat in remaining sugar, beating just until smooth. If too thick, stir in a little milk; if too thin, stir in a little icing sugar.
7. Place 1 cake, dome-side down, on a cake plate. Spread with about one-third of the icing, leaving a narrow border of cake uniced around the edge. Top with second cake, flat-side down. Spread with remaining icing right to edges. Decorate with pecans, if you wish. Best to refrigerate for several hours or overnight before serving. If refrigerating overnight, store in a cake storage container or turn a large bowl over top to keep the cake from drying out.
Serves 12
TIPS If the apple and carrot you use are very juicy, it’s important to remove excess juice or the cake will be too moist. When measuring ingredients, do not pack them in the cup. It’s all right to add a little less than called for but do not add more. Use a box grater for grating versus a food processor. Once the carrot and pineapple mixture is stirred together, do not let it sit very long or it will water out.
