Healthier Carrot Cake

I

have had a serious hankering for carrot cake lately, but instead of indulging in the calorie-laden store-bought kind, I played around and came up with a version I can feel better about eating.  This healthy carrot cake is still a treat, so keep portion size in mind.  But rest assured that it’s significantly lower in fat and calories than traditional recipes or store-bought cake, and it’s every bit as satisfying!

Healthier Carrot Cake

 

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Serves: 18 servings

Ingredients

• 3 Large Eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1 ½ cups Sugar
• ½ cup Unsalted Butter, room temperature
• ½ cup Plain lowfat yogurt, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons Cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
• ½ cup All Purpose Flour
• 1 ½ cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
• 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon Ground ginger
• 3 cups Carrots, grated
• 1 cup Golden Raisins
• ½ cup Walnuts, chopped
• ¾ cup Lowfat Buttermilk
• ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 3 cups Powdered Sugar
• ¼ cup Unsalted Butter, room temperature
• 8 ounces Light cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon Orange zest

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a stand mixer, or large bowl using a hand mixer, blend together 1 stick butter, yogurt, and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and mix until each is blended before adding the next.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together dry ingredients with a fork or whisk.
3. Turn the mixer onto low speed. Add ⅓ of the flour mixture to the mixing bowl, then ½ the buttermilk. Repeat until dry ingredients and buttermilk are gone. Toss the raisins and walnuts with 1 Tbsp flour in a small bowl, then add those along with the carrots to the batter.
4. Pour batter into a greased 9x13 baking dish. Bake cake until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting (about 2 hours).
5. After cleaning the mixing bowl, return it to the stand and blend together the butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla and orange zest. Add powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time (turn off mixer when adding) until frosting consistency is reached. Blend on high for 30 seconds to whip air into the frosting. Frost the cake and serve.

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