Whole Wheat Carrot Cake With Creamy Orange Icing Low Fat Recipes

Steps:

• 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with vegetable spray; line it with a piece of parchment paper, leaving an 1-inch overhang on 2 sides and spray the paper.
• 2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice in a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, whisk the eggs and sugars until pale; whisk in the oil, then the buttermilk and vanilla. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold in the carrots. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
• 3. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack. Using the parchment overhang, remove the cake from the pan. Frost the cooled cake with Lighter Creamy Frosting, if desired. Cut into 16 (2 by 3-inch) pieces and serve.
• In a medium bowl, stir together the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla.
• Spread the frosting over the top and sides of the cake.
• Yield: 16 servings
• Nutritional analysis per serving of frosting
• Calories 84; Total Fat 5g (Sat Fat 3g, Mono Fat 1g, Poly Fat 0g) ; Protein 2g; Carb 8g; Fiber 0g; Cholesterol 16mg; Sodium 71mg

Steps:

• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray twelve 4-ounce mini loaf pans or a 12-cup regular muffin pan with pan release spray.
• Spread the pecans out on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until toasted, 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool and then pulse in a food processor until very finely chopped but not ground.
• Combine the chopped pecans, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together the brown sugar, yogurt, oil, vanilla extract, lemon zest and eggs in another bowl. Stir the carrots into the egg mixture. Fold the carrot-egg mixture into the flour mixture until just combined. Divide evenly among the prepared pans. (Don't be alarmed if the batter seems skimpy; the cakes will rise once baked.)
• Bake until the center of the cakes bounce back when pressed and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the pans for a few minutes, and then transfer to a rack to cool completely.
• For the glaze: Mix together the confectioners' sugar, cream cheese, lemon juice, vanilla extract and salt in a medium bowl. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of the glaze onto each cake and use the back of the spoon to spread. Garnish as desired.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (175 C).
• Lightly butter a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
• Wash and trim carrots and cut into large pieces.
• Place in a food processor and process until finely chopped, or grate carrots finely, to make 2 cups.
• I grated my carrots.
• Set aside.
• Cut orange into 8 wedges.
• Do not peel.
• Remove white center and seeds.
• Cut wedges into 3 or 4 pieces each and puree in a food processor or blender along with the raisins.
• Combine flours, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and salt in a large bowl.
• In another bowl, combine eggs, buttermilk, maple syrup, brown sugar, oil, carrots and orange.
• Stir carrot mixture into dry ingredients until combined.
• Spread batter evenly in pan and bake 25 to 30 minutes, until a cake tester or wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool cake in pan.
• Prepare icing by working cream cheese and orange juice together with the back of a spoon until combined.
• Stir in enough powdered sugar to obtain a spreadable consistency.
• When cake is cool, spread top with icing.
• Makes 16 servings.
• The One-Day-at-a- Time Low-Fat Cookbook.

Steps:

• For the cake: Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour three 9-inch round, 2-inch deep cake pans, flour the insides and tap out the excess.
• Whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt and set aside. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut and raisins.
• Working in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with a whisk, beat the sugar and oil together until smooth. Add the eggs one by one and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother. If you are working in a mixer, reduce the speed to low, if you're working by hand switch to a large rubber spatula, and gently stir in the flour mixture - mix only until the dry ingredients disappear. Just as gently, stir in the chunky ingredients.
• Divide the batter among the baking pans and slide the pans into the oven. Bake the cakes for 40 to 50 minutes, rotating the pans top to bottom and front to back at the midway point. The cakes are properly baked when a knife inserted into the centers of the cakes comes out clean; the cakes will just start to come away from the edges. Transfer the pans to cooling racks, cool for 5 minutes, then turn out onto racks to cool to room temperature. (At this point, the cakes can be wrapped airtight and kept at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months; thaw before frosting.)
• For the frosting: Working in a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the lemon juice or extract.
• If you'd like to have coconut in the filling, scoop out about 1/2 of the frosting and stir the coconut into this portion.
• To frost the cake, place one layer of the cake, right-side up, on a cardboard round or a cake plate. If you've added coconut to the frosting, use half of coconut frosting to generously cover the first layer. Use an offset spatula or a spoon to smooth the frosting all the way to the edges of the layer. Top with the second layer, this time placing the cake top-side down. Frost with the remainder of the coconut frosting. Top with the last layer, right-side up and use the plain frosting to cover the top - and the sides, if you want - of the cake. Finish the top layer with swirls of frosting. If you want to top the cake with toasted nuts or coconut, sprinkle on these ingredients now, while the frosting is soft. Slide the cake into the refrigerator for 15 minutes, just to set the frosting.
• Serving: The cake can be served as soon as the frosting is set. It can also wait, at room temperature and covered with a cake keeper, overnight. The cake is best served in thick slices at room temperature and, while it's good plain, it's better with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream or even some lemon curd with a little whipped cream folded in.
• Storing: Covered the cake will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. It can also be frozen, uncovered, and then, when it is firmed, wrapped airtight and kept in the freezer for up to 2 months; defrost, still wrapped, in the refrigerator overnight.

Steps:

• Combine dry ingredients.
• Add oil, honey, and eggs; mix well.
• Stir in remaining 3 ingredients.
• Bake in two greased 9-inch cake layer pans for 35-40 minutes at 350 degrees.
• Cool in pans several minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely on wire rack.
• You can also bake this in a 9x13 pan as a sheet cake -- just as good, and easier than frosting a layer cake!