Carrot Cake

What's that saying, "The way to a man heart is through his stomach." That hold true to the "the man of the place" and the quickest way is my Carrot Cake. He is what I would call a Carrot Cake connoisseur. He will try every ones cake and then tells me what he thinks of it. So today I have made him a cake. But what he doesn't know is that I took my recipe from my Better Homes Cookbook and made it a healthier version. I would like to share it with you. I'll give you the original recipe and then what I did to change it. Now I can not tell you what all the changes are as far as calories, fat, carbs, etc. But it is a dessert  and I look at it a special  treat.

Original Recipe.
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. Cinnamon
3 cups finely shredded carrots
1 cup oil (that's right 1 cup)
4 eggs

Now here is my revision,

2 cups whole wheat white flour - This is less noticeable then plain WW.
1 cup sugar -  I will replace the sweetness with the applesauce I add
1 tsp. each of baking powder & baking soda  - no change there
2 tsp. Cinnamon - that's because I love cinnamon
4 cups of finely shredded carrots - more veggies, he needs his veggies

2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce with 1/3 cup EVOL. (extra virgin olive oil) - the applesauce can be use as replacement for oil in a lot of recipes. But I like to leave a small portion of the oil in it. You need some oil in the cake to get the texture and look

3 eggs and 3 egg whites - I have even done 2 eggs and 6 egg whites.

I  add 1/2 cup each of raisins and walnuts - this is a personal taste, if you do not like one or the both you do not need to add them

Preheat oven at 350*   Grease and flour your cake pan. Now you can use two round cake pans or a 9 x 13 cake pan, your choice.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl, add the carrots, applesauce/oil and eggs. Beat with an electric mixer till combined .

Pour into pans. Bake for 30 -35 minutes or till a toothpick inserted near the centers comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and if using round pans then remove cake. cool thoroughly before frosting.

Frosting is Cream  Cheese frosting.

1 pkg cream cheese

1/2 cup butter (soften at room temp)

1 tsp. vanilla

4 1/2 cups powder sugar

Usually I make the regular way of cream cheese frosting but if I have yogurt, I will use half cream cheese and half yogurt cheese 

To make yogurt cheese you will need cheesecloth. Cut a piece large enough to line a strainer with.

Need plain yogurt, I added 2 containers

You will need to put a bowl under the strainer to catch the whey. It takes a hour or so to get a cream cheese. The longer you let it drain the firmer the cheese.

As you can see from the picture you will get a lot of whey. Do not throw it away, you can use it in soups and mash potatoes. I sometimes freeze it if I'm not using it right then.

This is a better look of the yogurt cheese.

Enjoy

Kat

=^..^=