Saturday was such a gorgeous day in the 70s. It made us ready for spring if we weren't already ready. Then it stormed in the night and temperatures dropped and we woke up to snow again. Not a lot, but the temperatures were cold Sunday. I decided enough is enough and declared it officially spring at our house.
Anyone walking up to our door will know it, too. I had bought these children rain boots last year for a project in the back yard, but changed my mind. (My husband didn't like the idea.) I bought 6 stems of mini-daisies at Wal-mart for 97 cents a piece and just stuck 3 in each boot and staggered them when I hung them from the string that held them together in the store. I am really pleased with the look, but on to the recipe for Carrot Cake, without all of the calories.
I got this recipe a number of years ago from a cooking show on the food channel on television. As happens so many times with me, I just never got around to actually baking it. A few months ago, I wanted to make it to take to Dinner Club, but I couldn't find the recipe and so I made something else.
One day I decided to search the internet for the recipe. I had remembered that it was a light version of a carrot cake so that is what I was searching for on the food channel. The first thing I learned was it is now called the Food Network, but that didn't stop me. I finally found a recipe for them for a Light Carrot Cake. I printed it and added it to one of my piles of recipes.
Then surprise, surprise, one day when I was looking for a different recipe, I found the recipe card with the recipe I had seen years ago. The interesting thing was it was different from the one I had printed off. I have not been able to find this version of a light carrot cake on the Food Network website. Not sure why.
Well, the Dinner Club was meeting this past weekend and when I changed my mind Friday about what I was going to make, I found the recipe for the Carrot Cake in my recipe box. I decided this was the perfect time to make it. I will admit the hardest part is grating the carrots, but my husband helped out so it wasn't so bad. Need to get out my food processor next time. I like the carrots finely grated though and wasn't sure the food processor would grate them as finely as I wanted them to be.
I used a sugar free yellow cake mix, but you don't have to if you don't want to. I just try to reduce the amount of sugar when I can. I also used 1/3 less fat cream cheese for the frosting. You don't have to do that either if you don't want to. The cake was really good. Carol said she didn't know if she liked the cake or the frosting better. The orange juice and lemon peel in the frosting is a really nice surprise.
1 Pillsbury sugar free yellow cake mix
1/2 cup canola oil
2/3 cup orange juice
4 eggs
3 cups grated carrots (1 lb. bag)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped nuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and dust with flour a 13 x 9 -inch pan.
Add all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix on low speed til moistened. Scrape the sides of the bowl, and increase speed to medium for 2 minutes.
Pour batter into pan and bake for about 35 minutes. Check doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. It will come out clean when the cake is done.
Cool completely in pan.
FROSTING:
1 stick of margarine, room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature (1/3 less fat works fine.)
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons orange juice
1 teaspoon orange peel
Cream the margarine and cream cheese til smooth with electric mixer.
Add powdered sugar, orange juice, and orange peel and mix til smooth.
Spread on cooled cake.
Sprinkle top with chopped nuts. (I used about 1/4 cup chopped nuts.)
Store in the refrigerator.
Other dishes shared at the gathering:
FRESH BROCCOLI SALAD
BLT MACARONI SALAD
STEVE'S BAKED BEANS
I got this recipe a number of years ago from a cooking show on the food channel on television. As happens so many times with me, I just never got around to actually baking it. A few months ago, I wanted to make it to take to Dinner Club, but I couldn't find the recipe and so I made something else.
One day I decided to search the internet for the recipe. I had remembered that it was a light version of a carrot cake so that is what I was searching for on the food channel. The first thing I learned was it is now called the Food Network, but that didn't stop me. I finally found a recipe for them for a Light Carrot Cake. I printed it and added it to one of my piles of recipes.
Then surprise, surprise, one day when I was looking for a different recipe, I found the recipe card with the recipe I had seen years ago. The interesting thing was it was different from the one I had printed off. I have not been able to find this version of a light carrot cake on the Food Network website. Not sure why.
Well, the Dinner Club was meeting this past weekend and when I changed my mind Friday about what I was going to make, I found the recipe for the Carrot Cake in my recipe box. I decided this was the perfect time to make it. I will admit the hardest part is grating the carrots, but my husband helped out so it wasn't so bad. Need to get out my food processor next time. I like the carrots finely grated though and wasn't sure the food processor would grate them as finely as I wanted them to be.
I used a sugar free yellow cake mix, but you don't have to if you don't want to. I just try to reduce the amount of sugar when I can. I also used 1/3 less fat cream cheese for the frosting. You don't have to do that either if you don't want to. The cake was really good. Carol said she didn't know if she liked the cake or the frosting better. The orange juice and lemon peel in the frosting is a really nice surprise.
CARROT CAKE
1 Pillsbury sugar free yellow cake mix
1/2 cup canola oil
2/3 cup orange juice
4 eggs
3 cups grated carrots (1 lb. bag)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped nuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and dust with flour a 13 x 9 -inch pan.
Add all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix on low speed til moistened. Scrape the sides of the bowl, and increase speed to medium for 2 minutes.
Pour batter into pan and bake for about 35 minutes. Check doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. It will come out clean when the cake is done.
Cool completely in pan.
FROSTING:
1 stick of margarine, room temperature
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature (1/3 less fat works fine.)
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 teaspoons orange juice
1 teaspoon orange peel
Cream the margarine and cream cheese til smooth with electric mixer.
Add powdered sugar, orange juice, and orange peel and mix til smooth.
Spread on cooled cake.
Sprinkle top with chopped nuts. (I used about 1/4 cup chopped nuts.)
Store in the refrigerator.
Other dishes shared at the gathering:
FRESH BROCCOLI SALAD
BLT MACARONI SALAD
STEVE'S BAKED BEANS
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