Carrot Cake - Cooking Light April 2007

I just can't get enough of baking these days. I tell myself I'm "using up ingredients before we move" but I think some baking bug has just grabbed me lately. Luckily for M.'s coworkers, the bug is showing no sign of slowing down. For some reason I was totally in the mood for carrot cake this weekend. Not a craving I have very often, but it was a craving I simply had to cater to. So, I took my trusty copy of April's Cooking Light in one hand and my trusty hand mixer in the other and I made some carrot cake!

I did make one major change. I do not care for nuts in baked goods. I barely care for nuts, but if I do choose to enjoy them, they must be solo. So, I left out the pecans. Otherwise I followed the recipe as is, and was thrilled by how easy and tasty it was. The finished cake was moist, spicy and had all the elements of the finest carrot cake for a fraction of the fat. The icing was perhaps a touch runny as opposed to the more typical buttercream-like texture, however it tasted great. And the feedback I got from M.'s coworkers indicated that they agreed. :)

Sorry about the poor lighting on the pictures. I guess it was darker in my kitchen then I thought...

Carrot Cake
Cooking Light - April 2007

Cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (about 6 3/4 ounces)
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1/3 cup chopped pecans
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 large eggs
2 cups grated carrot
1 1/2 cups canned crushed pineapple, drained
Cooking spray

Frosting:
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 (8-ounce) block 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
3 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Additional grated carrot (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cake, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, coconut, pecans, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk. Combine oil and eggs; stir well. Stir egg mixture, grated carrot, and pineapple into flour mixture. Spoon batter into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a wire rack.

To prepare frosting, combine butter and cream cheese in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla just until smooth. Spread frosting over top of cake. Garnish each serving with grated carrot, if desired.

Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 piece)

CALORIES 322 (29% from fat); FAT 10.4g (sat 4.2g,mono 3.2g,poly 1.5g); PROTEIN 4.1g; CHOLESTEROL 40mg; CALCIUM 29mg; SODIUM 403mg; FIBER 1.4g; IRON 1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 54.4g

Cooking Light, APRIL 2007