Carrot Cake (low carb . . . make that VERY low carb!)

Shanny · 03-01-2011, 01:26

This came to me via Diabetes Daily & I just haven't gotten round to making it until tonight. Carrot Cake (low carb)

I've tweaked a bit to try lowering the carbs even more, but I seem to have added a few instead

Feel free to increase the sweetener in both the cake & the frosting if you like your desserts REALLY sweet.

FOR THE CAKE
* 1/4 cup crushed pineapple
* 3/4 cup chopped pecans
* 1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
* 1/3 cup olive oil
* 2 cups almond meal
* 2 tsp baking powder, plus a pinch for the beaten egg white
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 1 rounded tsp ground cinnamon
* 1/2 to 3/4 cup powdered sweetener (I used Ideal Brown No Calorie Sweetener)
* 1 cup finely grated carrots
* 2 eggs

FOR THE FROSTING
* 2 8-oz pkgs. cream cheese, softened
* 1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
* 6 tbsp. powdered sweetener
* 1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice

1. Heat oven to 325° (160C) (gas mark 3)
2. Combine pineapple, pecans & lemon juice; leave to soak while you make the cake
3. Grease 2 x 8” cake tins (I lined 'em with wax paper)
4. Mix the almond meal with baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon
5. Separate one of the eggs. Put the white in a small bowl and the yolk in a large one
6. Break the remaining whole egg in with the yolk; add the sweetener
7. Whisk together for 1-2 minutes until thick and foamy
8. Slowly pour in the oil and continue to blend on a low speed until well mixed
9. Add the almond mixture to the egg mixture, half at a time, gently stirring with a rubber spatula or big spoon. The mix will be quite stiff
10. Put the extra pinch of baking powder in with the egg white and whip to soft peaks
11. Fold the carrots & pecans mixture (and any liquid) into the almond mixture
12. Gently fold in the whipped egg white
13. Divide batter equally between both cake pans
14. Jiggle the pans gently to level the batter
15. Bake for 35-40 minutes until risen and firm or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Leave to cool in the pans for 5 minutes; turn out onto a wire rack; let set until fully cooled.

To make the frosting:
1. Combine cream cheese, butter & sweetener, blend until smooth. Add lemon juice
2. Spread the frosting over each half & place one layer on top of the other

Total carbs for the entire cake = 107, so divide by the number of slices.
Cutting it into 16 equal slices - serving size: 88g
calories per serving: 319
calories from fat: 272
total fat: 31g
saturated fat: 11g
trans fat: 0g
cholesterol: 79mg
sodium: 286mg
total carbs: 7g
dietary fiber: 2g
sugars: 3g
Protein: 6g
vitamin A: 46%
vitamin C: 2%
calcium: 11%
iron: 6%

tony eugene · 03-01-2011, 12:29

Thank you for sharing the recipe, it looks delicious aside from nutritious of course. Any other recipes in the future please post.

foxl · 03-01-2011, 16:42

Oh, nom nom nom!!!! Thank you -- and you added a modest use of pineapple! Excellent!

Shanny · 03-01-2011, 18:43

I didn't think pineapple would be any carbier than orange, and prob'ly higher fiber, y'think?

foxl · 03-01-2011, 18:45

Oh, you subbed it, not added it! Perfect, then!

Wink · 03-01-2011, 19:02

My chart shows a 3" orange is 22 carbs, 3 fiber, net 19 and 1/4 cup fresh pineapple is 6carbs, 1 fiber, 5 net. Canned pineapple should depend on whether sugar is added, etc but my list shows 2 slices of canned pineapple is 15 carbs, 1 fiber, 14 net - I'd check the can. Recipe sounds yummy... I wonder if I can make a one layer cake with half the recipe.

Shanny · 03-01-2011, 19:21

My mistake - orange IS higher fiber if you eat the whole fruit. This recipe called for squeezing the juice, so maybe pineapple is still better for this particular thing, if it's packed in natural juice & not heavy syrup.

It doesn't rise much, Vicky, so you could prob'ly bake it in a 9x13 pan & have a one-layer cake without even halving the recipe.

Wink · 03-01-2011, 21:18

But I want to only make 1/2 because I'm pretty sure it's not a good idea for me to eat a whole cake.. even a low carb one.

Almost forgot.. I'm pretty sure the carbs listed on the can for the pineapple includes the juice... I'll have to guess how much for the drained pineapple.

MCS · 03-03-2011, 15:01

I like it, will def give this a try.

anuradha.m · 03-03-2011, 18:24

WOW? Bake your cake and eat it too! I'll not miss it, anyway carrots and pinapple are big time favourites with us, I keep making carrot halwa, sort of pudding, in M/W. This time I'll make the cake..thankQ Shanny, any more??