I’ve recently come to the realization that most people are on some sort of diet. Either, low cal, low fat, low carb, or whatever new diet that is trending now. Which led me to realization that in one way or another we are all just searching for a way to better enjoy the food without our waistlines being affected.
Let me be honest here. The thought of making a healthy carrot cake is very intimidating. I just didn’t want to take risks with my favorite classic and make a mess out of it. Many people already consider classic carrot cake to be healthy as is. After all, it contains vegetables (carrots), made using presumably healthy fats (oils not butter), it contains walnuts, spices etc.. The fatal heart clogging ingredients in carrot cake is of course, the cream cheese frosting. Whenever I make cream cheese frosting I avoid the weight scale for weeks because I feat I’ll be the weight of an elephant the next day. I simply cant practice self control when I know I have carrot cake in the fridge. I could eat the whole thing by myself in one sit.
The good news is I’ve come up with a healthier alternative. Let me assure you that this healthy carrot cake will not:
- Clog your arteries
- Give you a sugar coma
- Expand your waistline
- Make you miss the old carrot cake that is loaded with oil and buttery / sugary cream cheese
You want to know the best part about this cake. The cream cheese frosting. Its even healthy. It does not contain any butter or sugar and it still tastes great! It a combination between mascarpone and cream cheese. P.S. don’t use low fat cream cheese else, the frosting will be too runny, (I learned this the hard way).
Although this cake is healthy, its is still as delicious as any regular oily carrot cake. It is moist, fragrant, fulfilling and more importantly healthy.
First and foremost, this recipe needs preparations. Shred the carrots. Crush the pineapple. And chop the walnuts. Once you do that, everything else is a piece of cake.
For the carrots decorating the cake, i use the marzipan (almond paste). I used orange and green food coloring, (don’t forget to wear gloves, else your hands will be the colors of a carrot for days) i shaped the carrots using my palms, and used a clean garlic crushed and a knife to make the green part of the carrot. You can make your carrots look more real by using the back of the knife, a little cocoa then gently press horizontal lines on the carrot.
Don’t worry if the carrots don’t look perfect, or have a uniform size. Just remember that real carrots come in all shapes and sizes
So the next time you’re in a mood for a carrot skip the regular carrot cake, and make this healthy alternative instead.
Ingredients
- For the cake
- 2 1/2 cups (288 g) whole wheat flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1 tsp nutmeg powder
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup (225 g) sour cream
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 3/4 cup (173 g) dark brown sugar
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 3 cups (400 g) shredded carrots,
- 1/2 cup (113 g) pineapple, crushed and drained
- 1 cup (120 g) chopped walnuts For the frosting
- 1 cup (250 g) mascarpone cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 pack (112 g) cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/4 cup (80.5 g) maple syrup
Steps
- To make the cake
- Preheat oven to 180C / 350 F / Gas mark 4. Grease and flour a 9 inch sprinform cake pan (or a deep cake pan). Set aside.
- In a medium size bowl, shift the wheat, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of the mixer, mix the sour cream, olive oil and sugar until combined.
- Add the eggs, mix until combined.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients. Mix until just incorporated. Don’t over mix.
- Using a spatula, fold in the carrots, pineapple and walnuts.
- Pour into the prepared baking pan. The batter will be thick. Don’t worry, it supposed to be like this. Bake for 50 – 55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center come out clean.
- Cool for 15 minutes in a wire rack before removing the cake mold. Cool completely before frosting. To make the frosting
- Beat the mascarpone cheese and cream cheese together until light and fluffy.
- Add the maple syrup. Beat until combined.
- Spread on the cake once it has cooled completely.
So what do you think about healthy food? Are you on a diet? Where do you stand on healthy foods? Do you automatically assume anything healthy will taste bad? Are you willing to take a risk with your favorite classic and turn it into something healthy? I’d love to hear from you, so please share your stories.
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