Rec. Healthy Carrot Cake

[marsha-tbay]

Carrot Cake

9 Servings

Carrot cake is a perennial favorite, but it is often loaded with vegetable oil and laden with a cream cheese frosting.

Our version is healthier, using a small amount of olive oil, a full cup of honey for moistness and flavor, and a combination of whole wheat pastry and unbleached flours. The crunchy walnuts even add a bit of omega-3 fats to this sweet treat.

With a cup of hot green tea, this cake will make you forget about cream cheese frosting. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

2 cups firmly packed finely grated carrots (3 large)

Juice of 1 large orange

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup light olive oil

1 cup honey, liquefied in microwave (30 seconds)

1/2 cup crushed or chopped pineapple, drained

1 cup unbleached white flour

1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground allspice

3/4 cup walnuts, chopped

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. In a mixing bowl, stir together the carrots, orange juice, vanilla, olive oil, honey, and pineapple until well blended.

3. In another bowl, stir together the flours, baking soda, and spices. Mix in the walnuts.

4. Blend the dry ingredients into the carrot mixture, stirring until just mixed.

5. Pour the batter into a nonstick 8-inch-square baking pan and bake for 45-60 minutes until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven, let cool slightly, and remove from pan.

shared by Jenn-makeithealthy

 

[orchid]

Thanks for this Marsha. Could I use whole wheat bread flour? Is there a difference

between that and pastry flour?

 

[marsha-tbay]

You're asking the wrong person but I feel there must be a difference!?

 

[meryl]

Hi orchid, Marsha's right - there's definitely a difference. Bread flour in general has a higher

amount of gluten than regular all purpose, and all purpose has a higher amount than pastry flour. What does than mean? Well, the higher the gluten amount, the tougher your result, so you don't want to replace the whole wheat pastry flour with bread flour. Also, whole wheat flours in general have a coarser, denser texture than white flours, so I think you could end up with a door stop if you use the whole wheat bread flour!