Slimmed Down Carrot Cake
- Level: Easy
- Yield: 12 servings
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 12 servings
- Calories
- 483
- Total Fat
- 23
- Saturated Fat
- 6
- Carbohydrates
- 66
- Dietary Fiber
- 3
- Sugar
- 46
- Protein
- 7
- Cholesterol
- 45
- Sodium
- 306
- Total: 1 hr 30 min (includes cooling time)
- Active: 20 min
Ingredients
Carrot Cake:
Nonstick cooking spray, for greasing
1 1/2 cups granulated or coconut sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup carrot puree or carrot baby food
1 cup frozen grated coconut, thawed
2/3 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1/2 cup crushed pineapple, drained
Frosting:
One 8-ounce package Neufchatel cheese, at room temperature
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped
Directions
- For the carrot cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottom of a 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking pan with cooking spray, line with parchment paper and grease the paper with cooking spray.
- With an electric mixer, cream the granulated sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs together in a large bowl. Sift together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a separate bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture and mix well. Add the carrot puree, coconut, walnuts and pineapple and beat until smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool the cake for about 5 minutes. Spray a wire rack with cooking spray. Run a knife around the edges of the pan and turn the cake out onto the wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.
- For the frosting: Using an electric mixer, beat the Neufchatel in a medium bowl until smooth. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar and continue beating until fully combined. Mix in the vanilla.
- Frost the cake and garnish with the chopped walnuts. Refrigerate until ready to serve.