Carrot cake may sound healthy, but traditional carrot cake is one of the richest desserts that you can prepare. It is very heavy in fat and calories. But it doesn’t have to be. The great thing about carrot cake is that the carrots add a lot of moisture so it allows you to cut out fat easily. This recipe uses raisins to add even more moisture. And it swaps out high calorie vegetable oil for the good fat of ground almonds. Try this recipe out for Easter dessert this Sunday. It will satisfy your sweet tooth while being kind to your hips. Just be sure to hide it from that sneaky bunny!
Ingredients:
For the cake:
- 1 orange
- 3/4 cup golden raisins
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
- 1 lemon
- 2 1/2 cups carrots, finely grated
- 1 cup self-rising flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup ground almonds
- 1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
For the icing:
- 3 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1/4 cup full-fat cream cheese
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8-inch-square or 9-inch round pan.
- Grate the zest of the orange and set aside. Squeeze the orange juice into a bowl and add the golden raisins to the juice. Set aside.
- Using a handheld mixer, whisk the eggs and sugar with the orange zest for five minutes until pale and full of air. Add the grated carrot and beat to incorporate.
- Slowly add in the spices, salt, ground almonds, baking soda and flour, then quickly mix until all the ingredients are combined.
- Using a spatula, mix in the raisins and walnuts, along with any orange juice left in the bowl, until they are evenly distributed.
- Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake and removed comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, and then remove from the pan. Chill in refrigerator for an hour once cooled.
- To make the icing: In a large bowl, beat the first cup of sugar with the cream cheese, using a wooden spoon. Once you reach a paste, add the remaining sugar along with the lemon juice and zest. Beat vigorously to combine. Refrigerate at least a half hour. Ice all over the top of the cold cake.
- Serve and enjoy.
