Love for Food

Low- Calorie Carrot Cake

I came across this recipe in Fitness Magazine. I'm not much of a carrot cake lover but this sparked my interest. Only 125 calories?! The picture made it look moist and the icing was gooey. While making it I realized you can only take healthy so far. This cake has a lot of sugar, white flour and oil. On the other hand you need some "real" ingredients for it to taste good. Butter is swapped out of the frosting to decrease the fat. Apple sauce is added to the batter instead of more oil. Finally egg whites are added instead of the entire egg. The batter seemed a bit flat in the pan but it did puff up when baked. Overall, I would make this again. The cake does not have a ton of flavor but it's pretty tasty with the frosting. Since cake part is a little plain so feel free to add some more spices - nutmeg maybe? Considering it's a diet friendly option this cake is worth the calories and time spent making it!

Ingredients: Serves 36
2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup slightly beaten egg whites (7 or 8 egg whites)
1/2 cup apple sauce
1/2 cup oil
3 cups shredded carrot
2 cups powdered sugar
8oz low fat cream cheese

Method:

  • Preheat oven to 350. Coat 15X10 pan with cooking spray.
  • In a large bowl, stir together flour, brown and white sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda.
  • In another bowl mix together egg whites, applesauce, and oil.
  • Stir together the wet and dry ingredients. Add the carrots.
  • Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
  • Cool and Frost.
  • Frosting is mixture of cream cheese and powdered sugar.
Cost: $6.00 total, .17 per servingTime: 30 minutes active, 30 minutes inactive

Nutrition Facts: Amount Per Serving
125 Calories
2g Protein
21g Carbohydrate
4g Fat1g Saturated Fat
0g Fiber
Weight Watcher Points +: 4 points per serving