I baked carrot snack cakes last night to celebrate. To stay on theme, they’re in the likeness of ladybugs, dragonflies, bumblebees, and butterflies. I found a backyard bug cakelet pan on sale for $20 at Williams-Sonoma after the holidays. But the real inspiration was this giant carrot from Worden’s Farm.
Ta-da! Happy Birthday Lettuce Share!
The recipe is from Better Homes and Gardens New Dieter’s Cookbook, making it at least half the calories of your average slice of carrot cake with cream cheese icing. More importantly, it tastes good. Sift powdered sugar on top and it tastes even better, but the cake alone is moist and sweet. Unfortunately, I’m no Minchul. To see what you can really do with this cakelet pan, go to Ohdeedoh.
This is the recipe exactly as it appears in the book, although I made a few small changes according to what was in my kitchen. I chose butter over margarine, substituted raw sugar for regular granulated sugar, and used two-percent organic milk instead of skim.
Carrot Snack Cake
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup margarine or butter, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup finely shredded carrot
- 1/4 cup skim milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Nonstick spray coating
- 1 to 2 teaspoons sifted powdered sugar
Instructions
In a medium mixing bowl beat margarine or butter and granulated sugar until thoroughly combined. Beat in egg. Stir in carrot, milk, and vanilla. In another bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg. Add to carrot mixture and stir until thoroughly combined. Spray an 8x8x2-inch baking pan with nonstick coating. Pour batter evenly into pan. Bake in a 350° oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. (Or, remove from pan after cooling 10 minutes. Then cool completely.) Place a paper doily on top of the cake. Lightly sift the powdered sugar evenly over the doily. Carefully remove the doily. Makes 9 servings.
Nutritional facts per serving: 152 calories, 6 g total fat (1 g saturated fat), 24 mg cholesterol, 154 mg sodium, 23 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2 g protein
Exchanges: 1 1/2 starch, 1 fat