You’ll love this lightened up Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting that uses less sugar than the traditional version, but gets an awesome sweet boost from crushed pineapple, cinnamon, and cardamom.
Baking is my passion, but there comes a time when the jeans start to get a little tight. In order to have my cake and eat it too, I baked a healthier version of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting.
This recipe uses less sugar than the traditional version, but gets a sweet boost from the crushed pineapple. When cutting back on sugar, I like to add more flavor and did so by adding one teaspoon of cinnamon and half a teaspoon of cardamom. Cardamom smells heavenly and has a slightly exotic taste. Also, I opted for vanilla bean paste which is more concentrated than vanilla extract. Wear your comfy jeans while enjoying a slice of this trimmed down carrot cake!
- For the Cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking soda
- ½ ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 (8-oz.) can crushed pineapple in juice, drained (reserve 1 ½ tsp)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 egg whites
- 1 TBS vanilla bean paste
- 3 cups grated carrots
- Vegetable cooking spray
- Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1 (8-oz.) package ⅓ less fat cream cheese
- 2 TBS butter, softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 ½ tsp pineapple juice
- 1 to 2 tsp fat-free milk (optional)
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.
- Whisk together pineapple and next 4 ingredients, then add pineapple mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.
- Fold in carrots. Pour batter into a 10-inch square cake pan coated with cooking spray.
- Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes.
- Remove from pan to a wire rack and cool completely (about 1 hour).
- For the Frosting
- Beat first 3 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.
- Gradually add powdered sugar to butter mixture beating at low speed, just until blended.
- Beat in 1½ tsp of pineapple juice and add milk if desired.
- Place cake layer on a serving plate and spread the top with frosting.
We hope you love this Lighter Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting from SoFabFood Contributor, Sandra Garth from Sweet Sensations, as much as we do. If you liked this dessert recipe, be sure to stop by our desserts section for even more like it. For more recipe inspiration, visit us on Pinterest because we have a lot of fantastic dessert recipes there too. Enjoy!
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