Recipe #9

The next recipe I tried from this book was for the girls' birthday cake we gave them on the night of their birthday. A few days before their actual birthday we had their 1 year pictures taken with a smash cake (and the butterfly wings), and I figured since they were still on a sugar high 3 days later, I'd try to cut out the sugar if I could for their mini-birthday celebration.

Carrot Cake
1/2 cup margarine at room temperature
3 eggs
3/4 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
1 cup whole wheat flour
1-1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1/3 cup wheat germ
1 tsp baking soda
3 tsp low-sodium baking powder*
1 tsp nutmeg
1-1/2 tsp cinnamon
3-1/4 cups grated carrots**
1 cup crushed pineapple, unsweetened and well drained

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Cream together the eggs and margarine and then stir in the pineapple juice. Add flours, wheat germ, baking soda, baking powder, and spices. Mix thoroughly. Stir in grated carrots and pineapple.
2. Coat a 9x13 baking pan with vegetable cooking spray. Pour in batter and spread to an even layer. Bake until center springs back when touched, about 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool before slicing.

This book also had a recipe for no-sugar frosting, but I didn't want to make it. I was lazy. I just used frosting from a tub. And quite honestly, even though the cake was pretty good, I am really glad I used "real" frosting. I am a bit of a sugar-addict (which is another reason I am trying to keep the sugar out as much as I can), so I'm not sure I would have liked the cake if I had used a no-sugar frosting. But, like I said, the cake was good - and making a no sugar cake even with a sugared frosting sure beats the alternative!


*The author notes that low-sodium baking powder (which I could not find at our local grocery store) is used at 1-1/2 times the amount of regular baking powder. So if you use the regular baking powder use 2 tsp, instead of the 3 tsp low-sodium.
**This was a pain in the butt, almost worth buying the pre-shredded carrots:

High Sugar Cake:

Low Sugar Cake:
*please note that Avery was still in sugar shock, can't you tell?