Carrot Cake

Aaaahhhhh.....Carrot Cake.......my weakness when it comes to desserts! But so high in PointsPlus™. One slice *could* nibble away half of my daily allowance. But not this recipe! Yay!!!!! Even non-WWers will love this cake. Should anyone local need any help with this recipe, *please* feel free to call me.....I'll be right over to help you make/bake it and then, of course, taste it. Remember......in my house carrot cake IS a veggie!!!

CARROT CAKE

Makes 16 Servings

1 Serving = 4 PointsPlus™

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup Splenda granulated (I use WalMart brand......cheaper)

1/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 TBSP canola oil

1/2 cup fat-free egg substitute

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups peeled and grated carrots (it came to a 1 lb package)

20 oz. can of crushed pineapple in juice, drained

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (1/4 cup in mix; 1/4 cup sprinkled on top)

Cream Cheese Frosting:

8 oz. package of 1/3 fat (Neufchatel) cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350º.

In a large bowl, combine the flours, Splenda, coconut, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Stir well with a whisk.

In a medium bowl, combine oil, egg substitute and vanilla; stir well. Add grated carrots and pineapple; mix well. Fold wet ingredients into the dry ingredients (batter will be stiff and dry(ish) but keep folding it and it will come together). Fold in 1/4 cup chopped walnuts.

Here's the 'tricky' part......you can make this in a Bundt cake pan, an 8x3 round cake pan (if you can find one), 2 regular round cake pans (making it a layer cake) or 24 cupcakes. I did it in a Bundt cake pan and baked it for @40 minutes. If you do the 8x3 round cake pan the directions are to bake for 40 - 50 minutes. 24 cupcakes bake about 17 - 22 minutes. Regular 8" round cake pans would be @ 29 - 34 minutes. Keep in mind that oven temps vary. But bake until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake is pulling away from the sides of the pan. Cool cake completely on a wire rack.

For the frosting: beat together the cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.

Garnish the frosted cake with the remaining 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts.

NOTE: If you decide to make this and NOT use the frosting.....3 PointsPlus™ but it just won't be as good!!

Now for the 'legal mumbo-jumbo' to keep me out of court! *The PointsPlus™ value for this recipe was calculated by me (Jan Gomes) and is not an endorsement or approval of this recipe by Weight Watchers International, Inc., the owner of the PointsPlus™ registered trademark.*

Later!

Loving Life(time)!

Jan