Food Friday – Have Your Veggies and Eat Your Cake Too!

from Tracey G. 

Kris and I discussed doing occasional “Throwback” posts from our “training blog”, lol, the one that got us started on this team-blogging journey! So, every now and then we’ll pull in a recipe from Pixels, Plates and LOLs! Should be fun, because although some may not be King Arthur Flour recipes, they are all yummy and generally family favorites!

I made this particular recipe this past weekend for a treat – it’s been awhile since I made it, so everyone around here was happy to see it!! Enjoy!

This time of year gets me thinking carrot cake, lol. It’s not something I’ve always liked – as a kid it wasn’t my cup of tea, I didn’t like spiced cakes etc. It wasn’t that I minded veggies in my treats, not at all, I love vegetables in any form, but it was the fact of the cake being too “busy” with spices and potentially nuts in it too. (It’s also a recent thing that I like nuts in my baked goods, but still don’t like them in my cookies, lol) But then one day, it was like a switch flipped and I decided I liked carrot cake, lol.

I’d never made it myself, always just had it out or whatever, but a few years ago, when I was trying to lose the weight that came along with having Harry, I decided I wanted to make one. Well, I was appalled at the amount of fat that went into the average carrot cake recipe! Wow – I think one recipe I ran across had a full cup of oil in it, no thanks. Those recipes gave me sticker shock in the calorie information department, lol. And I didn’t have any canned pineapple around  – every recipe I ran across had pineapple in it. Then, I found this one. Now, I’ve modified it, of course, because while I may like nuts these days in my baked goods – I still don’t like raisins, lol. But I thought this sounded like just what I was looking for – a lighter version with no pineapple involved 😉

So, I made my first carrot cake. A light one at that too – and it was super yummy!! I was so happy with it, I could have my cake and eat it too! LOL Since then, I’ve made it into cupcakes and followed the recipe and made it in a 9×13″ pan. I like to do the cupcakes because then they are portion controlled that way, I am not tempted to cut a bigger piece which would throw off my per serving numbers. I can make the perfect 18 servings by making 18 cupcakes 🙂 I didn’t care for the cream cheese frosting recipe that came along with it, so I just used my favorite one, and lightened it up a little bit, best I could without losing its integrity.

First, you combine the first 5 ingredients – the sugar, eggs, egg whites, oil and applesauce, in a mixing bowl and mix until smooth.

In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients – the flour,  spices, salt and baking soda (if using nuts, those will get stirred in later when carrots are added).

I like to use a whisk whenever I need to combine dry ingredients when I am baking, it’s easy and works well.

Next,  get your carrots ready – I use my mini food processor to shred up the 3 cups needed.

Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients in the mixing bowl, then stir in your carrots and nuts if using.

Pour into a 13×9″ baking pan coated with non-stick cooking spray or line cupcake pans with liners and divide batter amongst them to make 18 cupcakes. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Whether it be in a 13×9″ pan or cupcakes, allow them to cool completely before frosting them.

Lighter Carrot Cake

preheat oven to 350°

1 1/3 c sugar

2 eggs

2 egg whites

1/2 c unsweetened applesauce

1/3 c canola oil

2 c flour

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp ground cloves

3 c shredded carrots

1 c chopped walnuts, optional

In a large mixing bowl combine the first 5 ingredients until smooth. Combine the flours, baking soda, salt and spices; add to the egg mixture and mix well.

Stir in carrots and nuts. Pour into a 13×9″ baking pan coated with non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Frost as desired.  Makes 18 servings.

The Cream Cheese Frosting recipe I used for this batch is as follows:

1 8oz. package cream cheese, softened (I usually use Neufchatel, but of course the store didn’t have any today, so it was the full calorie/fat deal today)

2-3 tbsp butter, softened

4 c powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

2-3 tsp milk

In a mixing bowl, add the cream cheese and butter, mix until well blended. Add the vanilla; then add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time. Add 2-3 tsp milk to get it to the desired consistency for frosting the cake/cupcakes. Makes enough to frost about  24 cupcakes.

All that’s left to do is enjoy! 🙂