Carrot Cake Recipe

Since Sawyer is so anti-vegetable, I'm trying to sneak it in other places. We had carrot cake at my sister's house for her birthday and Sawyer devoured it. I'm going to try out a few recipes of healthier versions so I can use it more as a snack cake than a dessert for the kids. Here's my first attempt. I put in a ton of carrot and a ton of apple. And no walnuts. I hate nuts.

Carrot Cake Recipe

3/4 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 cups grated carrots
1 1/2 cups grated peeled apples
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts

Mix together the sugar, oil and eggs until the mixture is slightly thickened. Sift the flours together with the soda, salt and cinnamon.

Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture. Add the carrots, apples, raisins and walnuts. Stir until evenly mixed.

Bake in a greased and floured pan, 9"x13"x2" or a bundt type pan or two round cake pans. Bake at 350ºF for 35-40 minutes if using the 13" long pan. 30-35 minutes for round and 40-45 for bundt.

Always check for doneness by piercing the center of the cake with a toothpick. If it comes out clean, it's done.

Let the cake cool and ice with the cream cheese icing below.

I, however didn't ice it... I made the bundt cake and just slice and hand it out. So far so good. It really is moist and yummy! I don't think this one will be around for long!

Variation:

• Replace the grated apple with an equal amount of crushed pineapple that has been well drained. It adds a wonderful bit of tropical flavor to the cake and blends well with the carrots and raisins.

Cream Cheese Icing

4 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup icing sugar

Blend all together and spread over cooled cake.

If you are making a layered carrot cake in the round pans and want to put some icing between the layers, double this recipe to make sure you have enough.


Variation:

• If you want to drizzle the icing on a bundt style cake you will need to make it thinner. Do this by adding warm water to the icing a few drops at a time until it is the right consistency. Don't add too much water at one time. It's easier to add a bit more than try to fix runny icing.