This fragrant and flavorful cake was posted on the Healthy Indulgences site. It's not just healthy "because it has vegetables in it." The other bad stuff - those culprits named Sugar and Flour - are conspicuously missing from the recipe. The original recipe was made with a variety of sugar alcohols and stevia. As great as it tasted it left the house a little "windy" so I've reworked the recipe using Splenda for an equally delicious but "quieter" dessert.
The frosting is absolutely delicious. It's a new and improved Healthy Cream Cheese Frosting, with a special low carb ingredient, powdered coconut milk, which acts to thicken the frosting, while eliminating the greasy mouth feel that comes from the absence of powdered sugar. Powdered coconut milk is available at your local Asian or Indian grocery store, or it's available online - and it's cheap. The coconut milk powder contains a milk protein to prevent the oil from separating out, so you get extra protein in your dessert! Win-Win! You might want to make just a batch of this frosting and grab a spoon - it's that good!
Healthy Carrot Cake
Makes 18 mini muffins or a small (3 x 6") loaf
Nutritional value per Frosted Mini Cupcake:
Calories 89
Total Fat 8.5g
Saturated Fat 6.2g
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 34mg
Sodium 42mg
Total Carbohydrates 2.1g
Sugars 0.8g
Protein 1.5g
1/4 cup sifted coconut flour
2 Tablespoons oat flour
1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup Splenda
2 large eggs
4 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (imitation vanilla is crap - don't use it)
1 teaspoon molasses
1 1/4 cup finely grated carrot, packed gently into cup
1/8 teaspoon salt
Optional Ingredients:
1/4 cup pecan flour (finely ground pecans)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup chopped pistachios
Preheat oven to 350 F
Lightly oil (or spray with cooking spray) a 3" by 6" loaf pan.
Place a small rectangle of parchment paper or wax paper in the bottom of the pan.
Dust the bottom and sides of the pan with a sprinkling of oat flour to ensure the cake can "climb" as it bakes.
Turn and shake the pan with your hands to coat the sides evenly.
If you are making the carrot cake as mini muffins, spray the mini muffin tins well with a cooking spray and dust with oat flour.
Spoon batter into cups with a teaspoon, filling them almost to the top.
Sift coconut flour, gently spoon into measuring cup, and level with a knife.
Add coconut flour to a mixing bowl along with oat flour, xanthan gum, cinnamon, baking powder, and Splenda.
Add pecan meal if you are using it.
Whisk together dry ingredients to get rid of any lumps.
Grate carrots, measure by packing them gently into your measuring cups, and transfer shreds into a clean tea towel.
Twist and squeeze towel to remove as much liquid as possible from the carrots. (Drier is better)
Add eggs, oil, vanilla, salt and molasses to a blender.
Add 1/2 of the carrot shreds, and blend briefly until the mixture is smooth.
Add this wet mixture to the dry mix, and whisk it together.
Fold in the second half of the carrot shreds.
Fold in nuts, if using.
Pour (spoon) batter into prepared pan, and bake as directed.
If you don't have a blender, or don't want to use one, you can use a hand mixer. The texture of the cake will just have more visible carrot pieces in it.
Beat the wet ingredients together for a minute using your hand mixer.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and beat the batter until it is smooth.
Then, stir in the grated carrot with your spatula.
Fold in nuts.
Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake as directed.
If you are making a loaf, bake it for 50 minutes.
If you are making mini muffins, bake for 17 to 20 minutes.
If you are baking regular sized muffins, bake about 25 minutes.
Note: your mileage may vary based on your oven's idiosyncrasies. They are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let carrot cake rest in pan until it is cool enough to touch, then transfer to a cooling rack.
When cake is completely cooled, transfer it to a tupperware container or zip top bag, and store on the counter for as long as 24 hours. Freezes well. This cake tastes best at room temperature.
Healthy Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes a little over 1 cup
4 ounces cream cheese
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup coconut milk powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup Splenda
Powder Splenda in a coffee grinder until very finely ground.
Leave cream cheese and butter out on counter to come to room temperature.
Cube butter with knife (doesn't have to be exact) and add to bowl along with cream cheese.
Beat together with a hand mixer until smooth. Add in Splenda along with the vanilla.
Beat until smooth and fluffy (30 seconds to one minute), until Splenda is dissolved and no longer gritty feeling.
Beat in coconut milk powder.
Pipe or spread onto mini cupcakes.
Cook's Notes: Taste the batter and the frosting, and make adjustments to the sweetness as necessary for your tastes. If you can't find the coconut milk powder, a suitable substitute is meringue powder, which also stabilizes the frosting nicely.
The frosting is absolutely delicious. It's a new and improved Healthy Cream Cheese Frosting, with a special low carb ingredient, powdered coconut milk, which acts to thicken the frosting, while eliminating the greasy mouth feel that comes from the absence of powdered sugar. Powdered coconut milk is available at your local Asian or Indian grocery store, or it's available online - and it's cheap. The coconut milk powder contains a milk protein to prevent the oil from separating out, so you get extra protein in your dessert! Win-Win! You might want to make just a batch of this frosting and grab a spoon - it's that good!
Healthy Carrot Cake
Makes 18 mini muffins or a small (3 x 6") loaf
Nutritional value per Frosted Mini Cupcake:
Calories 89
Total Fat 8.5g
Saturated Fat 6.2g
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 34mg
Sodium 42mg
Total Carbohydrates 2.1g
Sugars 0.8g
Protein 1.5g
1/4 cup sifted coconut flour
2 Tablespoons oat flour
1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup Splenda
2 large eggs
4 Tablespoons + 1 teaspoon melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (imitation vanilla is crap - don't use it)
1 teaspoon molasses
1 1/4 cup finely grated carrot, packed gently into cup
1/8 teaspoon salt
Optional Ingredients:
1/4 cup pecan flour (finely ground pecans)
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup chopped pistachios
Preheat oven to 350 F
Lightly oil (or spray with cooking spray) a 3" by 6" loaf pan.
Place a small rectangle of parchment paper or wax paper in the bottom of the pan.
Dust the bottom and sides of the pan with a sprinkling of oat flour to ensure the cake can "climb" as it bakes.
Turn and shake the pan with your hands to coat the sides evenly.
If you are making the carrot cake as mini muffins, spray the mini muffin tins well with a cooking spray and dust with oat flour.
Spoon batter into cups with a teaspoon, filling them almost to the top.
Sift coconut flour, gently spoon into measuring cup, and level with a knife.
Add coconut flour to a mixing bowl along with oat flour, xanthan gum, cinnamon, baking powder, and Splenda.
Add pecan meal if you are using it.
Whisk together dry ingredients to get rid of any lumps.
Grate carrots, measure by packing them gently into your measuring cups, and transfer shreds into a clean tea towel.
Twist and squeeze towel to remove as much liquid as possible from the carrots. (Drier is better)
Add eggs, oil, vanilla, salt and molasses to a blender.
Add 1/2 of the carrot shreds, and blend briefly until the mixture is smooth.
Add this wet mixture to the dry mix, and whisk it together.
Fold in the second half of the carrot shreds.
Fold in nuts, if using.
Pour (spoon) batter into prepared pan, and bake as directed.
If you don't have a blender, or don't want to use one, you can use a hand mixer. The texture of the cake will just have more visible carrot pieces in it.
Beat the wet ingredients together for a minute using your hand mixer.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and beat the batter until it is smooth.
Then, stir in the grated carrot with your spatula.
Fold in nuts.
Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake as directed.
If you are making a loaf, bake it for 50 minutes.
If you are making mini muffins, bake for 17 to 20 minutes.
If you are baking regular sized muffins, bake about 25 minutes.
Note: your mileage may vary based on your oven's idiosyncrasies. They are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let carrot cake rest in pan until it is cool enough to touch, then transfer to a cooling rack.
When cake is completely cooled, transfer it to a tupperware container or zip top bag, and store on the counter for as long as 24 hours. Freezes well. This cake tastes best at room temperature.
Healthy Cream Cheese Frosting
Makes a little over 1 cup
4 ounces cream cheese
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup coconut milk powder
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup Splenda
Powder Splenda in a coffee grinder until very finely ground.
Leave cream cheese and butter out on counter to come to room temperature.
Cube butter with knife (doesn't have to be exact) and add to bowl along with cream cheese.
Beat together with a hand mixer until smooth. Add in Splenda along with the vanilla.
Beat until smooth and fluffy (30 seconds to one minute), until Splenda is dissolved and no longer gritty feeling.
Beat in coconut milk powder.
Pipe or spread onto mini cupcakes.
Cook's Notes: Taste the batter and the frosting, and make adjustments to the sweetness as necessary for your tastes. If you can't find the coconut milk powder, a suitable substitute is meringue powder, which also stabilizes the frosting nicely.
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