Carrot Cake

I will admit it - I am not a big carrot cake fan. But, DH and my mother both LOVE it. So, twice a year, I bake carrot cake... and I am coming around to them.

I have tried many carrot cake recipes over the years - looking for a recipe that is yummy, but not too fattening. That didn't work well - the cakes would be alright, but not what DH was craving when he wanted carrot cake. So, I finally decided to take a regular old carrot cake recipe from one of the old books lying around, and modified it to be a bit healthier. I am happy to report it was de-li-cious (even I thought so)!

Birthday Carrot Cake from St. John's Mom
To make this a tad healthier, some of the oil has been replaced with applesauce and low-fat mayonnaise, some whole wheat flour was added, and less sugar was used. As a general rule, you can replace 1/2 the fat with applesauce, and 1/2 the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour and still remain true to the original texture/taste/baking time. Try it :-)

Ingredients:

1 c all-purpose flour
1 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 c brown sugar
1/3 c oil
1/3 c applesauce
1/3 c low-fat mayonnaise
4 eggs (or 2 complete eggs & 4 egg whites)
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 1/2 c carrots
1/2 c chopped nuts
250g pkg low fat cream cheese (room temp)
1/4 c celeb margarine
1 c icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Method:

Oven at 350F. Grease & flour bundt pan.

Sift together the first 8 dry ingredients in medium bowl. Set aside.

In a separate, larger bowl, beat the sugar together with the oil, applesauce & mayo. Beat eggs, then add to wet ingredients. Stir in vanilla.

Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Add the carrots and nuts. Bake 50-55 min in centre oven.

Cool in pan 1/2 hour. Ice when completely cooled (can cover & place in fridge to speed up the cooling after the first 1/2 hr if you are pressed for time).

Blend cream cheese with margarine, icing sugar and vanilla. Cover cake when completely cooled.

Enjoy!