CARROT CAKE

CARROT CAKE
1 cup unblanched almond flour (3 1/8 ounces or 92 grams)
1 cup finely ground unsweetened coconut (3 1/8 ouces or 92 grams) *
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum

1 cup granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon pineapple extract, optional
2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon blackstrap molasses
2 eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
4 ounces carrot, finely grated (about 1 large carrot or 1 cup loosely packed after grating)

Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda
1 teaspoon vanilla

Put everything except the frosting ingredients in a medium mixing bowl and beat well with an electric mixer until you have a very thick batter. Spread in a greased 8 1/2 x 6 1/2" baking pan. Bake at 350?for 25-30 minutes. The cake is done when it no longer feels spongy when you lightly press it in the center. Cool completely before frosting. Store the frosted cake in the refrigerator.

Beat the frosting ingredients in a small mixing bowl with an electric mixer until fluffy. Spread over the cooled cake.

Makes 6-8 servings
Can be frozen

* Do NOT use commercial coconut flour in this cake. The results won't be the same. I grind my coconut in a coffee grinder.

TIP: I made my frosting first so that I wouldn't have to wash the beaters after making the cake batter. Keep the frosting in the refrigerator while making the cake. You may need to set the frosting out for a little while to soften it up before spreading it on the cake.

With granular Splenda:
Per 1/6 Recipe: 639 Calories; 60g Fat; 10g Protein; 17.5g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 12.5g Net Carbs
Per 1/8 Recipe: 479 Calories; 45g Fat; 8g Protein; 13.5g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 9.5g Net Carbs

With liquid Splenda:
Per 1/6 Recipe: 615 Calories; 60g Fat; 10g Protein; 11.5g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 6.5g Net Carbs
Per 1/8 Recipe: 461 Calories; 45g Fat; 8g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 5g Net Carbs

This is based on these three carrot cake recipes that I found online plus a couple of tweaks of my own:

The Chicken Lady at LCF
Lauren's Healthy Indulgences
Vanessa's Healthy Living How To Blog

You can double this recipe and bake it in a 9x13" pan. The pineapple extract is optional. I had some so I threw it in at the last minute and I have no idea if it affected the flavor very much. This cake is quite dense, more like the texture of a quick bread than light like a cake but it's pretty good. I'm not sure though if it's good enough to be worth all the carbs from the carrots (they add 10 carbs or 7 net carbs to the recipe) and I probably wouldn't eat it without some kind of frosting on it. I would have prefered buttercream frosting though because I'm not all that keen on the tang from the cream cheese. It's not bad though, if you like cream cheese frosting. Click the photo to see a close-up.

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