Don’t you hate when you try a new recipe and it DOESN’T turn out? You begin with such high hopes, and assemble your ingredients(can you tell that I am a cooking show junkie, lol) carefully,
You(I say you but, of course, I mean myself. Hopefully my dear readers, you will have had a similar experience) have learned, over the years, that it is MUCH better to so do than to be suddenly faced with a task such as peeling and chopping apples, while your pan with a batter containing (among other things, baking soda) languishes coldly upon the counter, its rising abilities reducing by the second….(did you not read the recipe? Another wise thing to do. :(
But I digress.
Its not nice to labour over a difficult recipe(or even , it could be an easy one, but you don’t know this, because it is NEW to YOU) only to have it fail. Yikes.
If you have a sweet significant other, as I do, they are now faced with the onerous task of gamely sampling the disaster, trying to hide the horror as they eat, all the while , bravely telling you that, “no honey, it is DELICIOUS!!! “
But happily, the recipe that I tried this afternoon, did NOT fail.
It was (and is, as it still exists, but won’t for long) a carrot cake but one made with healthy ingrdienets, and NO SUGAR and minimal oil AND spelt flour.
A recipe by Ania Catalano
This moist, luscious cake is a tropical twist on an old favorite–made even better with Agave nectar and wholegrain flours.
Serves 8 – 10
Pineapple Coconut Carrot Cake:
3 cups carrots, finely grated in food processor
½ cup unsweetened, canned pineapple, drained well and chopped
½ cup unsweetened, shredded coconut (plus extra to garnish outside of cake, optional)
2 cups sprouted spelt flour or 1 ½ cups barley flour and ½ cup oat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoons cinnamon
¾ cup light Agave nectar
3 eggs
½ cup canola oil
1 cup non-fat plain yogurt
1 tablespoon vanilla
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Lightly grease two 9” cake pans with canola oil ( can use an 13×9 pan)
Mix together carrots, pineapple and coconut in a large bowl
In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon
In a food processor, blend Agave nectar, eggs, oil, yogurt, and vanilla
Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir to blend
Add carrot mixture and stir until combined
Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 30 – 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cake comes out clean
Let cool in pan, then invert onto platter
Frost with Cream Cheese Frosting
Cream Cheese Frosting:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature
1 8 oz. Package cream cheese at room temperature
½ cup light Agave nectar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cream together butter and cream cheese
Add agave nectar and vanilla and beat well until creamy
Refrigerate frosting for about ½ hour to thicken (if needed) before frosting cake
Spread frosting in center of the two layers and over entire cake
Sprinkle with coconut, if desired
DELICIOUS!!!!! RECOMMENDED for anyone,…..
I am worse; I start tinkering with a new recipe even as I try it for the first time.
Tinkering is for the 2nd round !
My mom was like that, lol
She would start to bake something( for example) then say , “there’s no sugar?
well just use honey” ,( with disastrous results…lol!)
AND Most famous for trying to substitute baking powder for baking soda…LOL!
I don’t like it when recipes that look amazing in the photographs turn out to be very average. I’m a pretty good baker, so I don’t think I’m doing anything dreadfully wrong. That’s not to say I don’t make mistakes (of course!) but some recipes simply aren’t that great! And I hate to waste ingredients, and time, trying things that don’t work out. That’s why I love tried-and-true recipes, like the one you are sharing today. I looks great! I’m not a huge fan of carrot cake but my hubby LOVES it, so I will have to try making this one
Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe =)
you’re welcome! Thanks for visiting and commenting!
Now that looks and sounds moist and delicious. I was disappointed in the maple cream cheese frosting I tried for my last carrot cake. I’m going back to the traditional kind like the one in this recipe.
Teeni, You won’t be disappointed in this one; guaranteed!
This icing is nice, as it is not sickly sweet
Funny, as a friend always touted her recipe(laden with fat and sugar) as being the best but now Harvey says that this one is far better. (PLUS it’s healthy!
win/win!!!!:)
Yes it can be so disappointing.
Hannah, I normally dislike carrot cake but THIS one is so moist and not overly sweet, plus has the nice texture of the pineapple to make it interesting !
Let me know if you try it, and what you think!