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Carrot Cake
This recipe is based on Awesome Carrot Cake from AllRecipes.com. I really enjoyed that recipe, but I found it awefully greasy. I figured that with all those carrots, it had to be pretty healthy, but boy was I wrong.
The original recipe had an aweful lot of oil so I replaced more than a cup of it with pineapple and I still find the cake to be plenty rich. I also cut out some of the sugar since the pineapple provides some. Lastly, I increased the amount of carrot a little so that you have a larger but healthier serving, but I was careful not to let it get overly carroty.
Additionally, the recipe made enough frosting for two cakes, so I've cut that in half as well. You can use the other block of cream cheese for whatever else you'd like.
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Ingredients
| Makes 24 2"x2" servings |
Cals |
Fat (g) |
| The Cake |
| 4 cups grated carrots (about 16 oz) |
186 |
1.1 |
| 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour |
910 |
2.5 |
| 2 Cups Sugar |
1548 |
0.0 |
| 2 Tsp Baking Soda |
0 |
0.0 |
| 1 Tsp Baking Powder |
5 |
0.0 |
| 1/2 Tsp Salt |
0 |
0.0 |
| 1 1/2 Tsp Cinnamon |
9 |
0.1 |
| 4 Large Eggs |
294 |
19.9 |
| 2 Cans Crushed Pineapple, drained (16 oz total) |
280 |
0.0 |
| 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil |
955 |
108.0 |
| 1 1/2 Tsp Vanilla Extract |
18 |
0.0 |
| 1 Cup Chopped Pecans |
950 |
100.0 |
| Frosting |
| 4 oz (half bar) Neufchatel Cheese, softened* |
280 |
24.0 |
| 1 1/2 Cup Confectioner's or Powdered Sugar** |
720 |
0.0 |
| 4 Tbsp (1/2 stick) Butter, softened |
407 |
46.1 |
| 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract |
12 |
0.0 |
| 1 Tsp Rum |
12 |
0.0 |
| 1/2 Cup Chopped Pecans |
475 |
50.0 |
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| Total |
7061 |
351.7 |
| Per Serving |
294 |
14.7 |
* For a richer frosting you can use regular cream cheese. Do not use fat-free, it is too moist and soft.
** Don't use regular sugar or your frosting will end up gritty. I found that out the hard way... |
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| Instructions
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click for a larger image |
Line a 9" x 13" baking pan with parchment paper or grease and flour it.
Take the cream cheese and butter for the frosting out to warm up.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. |
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| Give your carrots a good scrubbing. The skin has a lot of nutrients so just clean them thoroughly instead of peeling them. |
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| Grate the carrots is with a food processor (or by hand if you really want to). Put the grated carrots into a large mixing bowl. |
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| Add the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon to the carrots and mix slowly to distribute the ingredients. |
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While mixing on slow, add the oil, eggs, vanilla, raisins and pineapple.
The batter will end up a little runny but that's ok.
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Once everything is mixed, scrape the bowl then add in the nuts and mix until distributed.
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Pour the batter into the lined baking pan.
Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes
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Meanwhile you can begin making the frosting.
Starting at low speed, cream the butter and cream cheese. Then add the sugar and vanilla. If you wish to add a kick, you can add a teaspoon of rum or other liqueur.
Mix at medium speed until the frosting is smooth.
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When the cake is done baking, check for done-ness with a toothpick. It should remain clean when you remove it. If not, continue cooking until it is done.
Remove the cake and allow it to cool at least an hour.
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Once the cake is cool, mix the frosting to loosen it and then spread over the cake or build a layer cake if desired (you'll need a double batch of the frosting for a layer cake though).
Sprinkle the remaining pecans on top.
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Here's a close up of a slice so you can see the texture.
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