Low Sugar Carrot Cake
 

Oh, my goodness, how I LOVE carrot cake!!! This one has no icing, and in my opinion, needs no icing, but you can buy canned sugar-free cream cheese icing if you think you'll need it.

I was given a carrot cake recipe by a friend who said it was fantastic, but since DH has pre-diabetes glucose levels, I've learned how to bake lower-carb, low to no sugar. So, with that said, this recipe is a re-do by me, tried and tested. DH says it's to die for! It's YUMMY and super moist! I prefer mine with raisins, which are not in the nutritional info here, so keep in mind that if you're diabetic, you might not want to use raisins due to their sugar content, or maybe just add a small handful to half of the cake for those who can eat them. Yes, I promise you'll want the other half all for yourself! :D The applesauce keeps the cake super moist, and also replaces some of the fat that was in the original recipe. ;)

You could also leave out the sugar completely and up the Stevia Powder to 1 TEASPOON, yes that's right, ONE TEASPOON, if preferred, which would also lower the sugars and carbs. I love re-making recipes to suit our sugar-free environment, and learning how to bake low carb was interesting. You might ask "Why the 1/4 cup of sugar". Believe it or not, just that little bit in the entire recipe gives the cake, or any other low carb baked goods texture. Even half that amount if you're feeling experimental, will produce an ok texture.

One level TEASPOON of Stevia Powder is equal to an entire CUP of sugar, yet Stevia, if you're not familiar with it, leaves no after taste like other sweeteners will do and it's all natural. I have more low carb, low-to-no sugar recipes and will post them from time to time if anyone is interested. My personal preference is NuNaturals brand Pure White Stevia Extract Powder with no additives, which I purchase online at http://www.netrition.com/nunaturals_...ct_powder.html and no, I'm not affiliated with netrition.com, NuNaturals or Stevia in any way other than that it is my choice of sweetener.
BTW, the vital wheat gluten helps the cake to rise, since whole grain flours have little to no gluten.
Enjoy!


Carrot Cake
Copyright: Helen Sherburne

Serving Size : 12 Preparation Time: 0:30

2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1- 1/4 cups applesauce, unsweetened
3/4 tsp Stevia Powder
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
2 tsp vital wheat gluten
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Grease & flour (or spray with non-stick cooking spray) 9 X 13 pan and set aside.
3. Measure all dry ingredients into a large bowl and set aside.
4. In separate bowl, measure wet ingredients, except carrots, and beat
together.
5. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients.
6. Stir in Carrots.
7. Fold in nuts.
8. Pour batter into prepared pan.
9. Bake in preheated oven for 35 to 45 minutes or until a wooden pick
inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
10. Let cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and
cool completely.

Nutrition (calculated from recipe ingredients)
----------------------------------------------
Calories: 274
Calories From Fat: 145
Total Fat: 16.7g
Cholesterol: 35.3mg
Sodium: 326.3mg
Potassium: 218.8mg
Carbohydrates: 27.5g
Fiber: 3.5g
Sugar: 6.3g
Protein: 5.2g

Jason's Deli has the best carrot cake ever! Thanks for recipe!

wow thank you so very much. a bunch of my drivers here at work are diabetic and this will be wonderful for them. I usually bake twice a month for them. will try this. thank you again.

Thanks for posting. I'd be interested in more low-sugar. I'm in the process of the Weight Watcher's program. I've lost 36 #s so far and am in need of trying more healthful recipes. I like stevia for my tea but have not learned to use it in baking or other cooking. Thank you for the ratio.

Well Carrot is considered very healthy vegetables due to the fact that it is free from fats and god for eyesight and also increase blood into body . So I am pleased to know that this unique cake would be full of taste . The foremost thing is that it contains eggs , olive oil and so many other ingredients which are good for health . Therefore, people who want to lose weight should try this .

Where do you get someof the ingredients, like coconut flour? Can regular flour be used instead? I also have a recipe for pineapple zucchini bread and I'm going to try to substitute some of the oil with applesauce. We'll see....

You can buy the different flours at most any grocery store, often in the health foods section. I usually find the flours in amongst the regular flours at Winco Foods here, but you can often buy them in bulk, also. Each one has a different taste. Coconut flour will add a nice sweetness to the baked goods. Oat flour is healthy for you, being a whole grain flour. Whole grain flours will produce a denser product, and what you use them in will not rise as well as when using white flour. Hence the vital wheat gluten, at a ratio of 1 teaspoon to 1 cup of whole grain flour.

I often substitute unsweetened applesauce for about half the fat in a recipe with good results.

The difference between white flour and whole grain flours is the carb count, not to mention just plain not good for you if you're diabetic! White flour will raise your glucose levels fast! But, with that said, you CAN use white flour in this recipe if you choose to. You can also use half white flour and half whole grain flour and get a similar end result.

I've been experimenting with all this stuff for several years and have some pretty good reliable recipes...yep, some waste along the way, but not too bad! haha

You're welcome! =)