Sourdough Carrot Cake

I made this cake first time more than 3 years ago when I first got the sourdough starter. I took it to work and everyone loved it there. But I haven't had a chance to make it again until now. I saw the recipe in the King Arthur Catalog and it reminded me of the moist and delicious cake that I made years ago.

Sourdough starter makes this cake very moist and there are no tell-tale signs of sourness or the addition of sourdough starter anywhere. I halved the original recipe and made 1 8" round cake. Then frosted the cake with a very simple cream cheese frosting.

The reason for celebration is that I crossed 1000 posts couple of posts back and this is a sweet treat to myself. I have to thank the BM group and especially Valli, without them the posts would have been random and I would never have reached this milestone.

Recipe adapted from here:

Ingredients:
Sourdough Starter - ½cup
Sugar - 1up
Vegetable Oil - ¾cup
Eggs - 2 large
Crushed Pineapple - ½cup, drained
Grated Carrot - 1cup
Walnuts - ¼cup, chopped
Shredded Coconut - ¼cup
Vanilla extract - 1tsp
All purpose flour - 1 cup
Wholewheat Pastry flour - ¼cup (or use 1¼cup APF)
Ground Cinnamon - 1tsp
Salt - ¼tsp
Baking Soda - ½tsp

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
Unsalted Butter - 2tbsp, softened
Cream cheese - 4oz. (half of a 8oz. block)
Confectioners Sugar - 1½cups
Vanilla extract - ½tsp
Milk - as needed
Chopped Nuts - as needed, for garnish

Method:

• Make the Cake: Preheat the oven to 350. Lightly grease a 8" round pan that is at least 2" deep. 
• In a mixing bowl, combine oil and sugar. Stir in sourdough starter. Mix in eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Fold in pineapple, carrots, walnuts, coconut and vanilla extract.
• In a separate bowl, combine flour, ground cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients, stirring until the ingredients are just combined.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 30~35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
• Remove cake from the oven and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.
• Make the Cream Cheese Frosting: Beat butter, cream cheese and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. Add the confectioner's sugar gradually until well combined. Add milk, if needed, to get to spreadable consistency.
• Frost the cake and sprinkle the chopped nuts.