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For my daughter’s first birthday (and first taste of sweetness), we decided a carrot cake would be the healthiest choice. This weekend for an impromptu Memorial Day potluck, we revisited our carrot cake recipe, and this time my daughter got to help make it! Our organic carrot cake was the hit of the party, and it is a great way to use up those funky looking carrots from the garden.
Organic Carrot Cake
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Use butter or oil to grease and flour the bottom of a 13″ x 9″ x 2″ glass pan. Beat with an electric mixer for one minute:
- 1 1/2 cups organic sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs (or egg replacer)
Add and beat for another minute:
- 2 cups organic flour (can use a mixture of whole wheat and unbleached white)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Add:
- 3 cups organic shredded carrots (about 5 carrots)
- 1 cup chopped organic walnuts
Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick/knife comes out clean from the center. Allow to cool completely before applying cream cheese frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Combine all ingredients and mix well with an electric mixer:
- 1 1/2 cups organic softened cream cheese
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 6 Tablespoons maple syrup
It’s easy to make this recipe vegan by using egg replacer and forgoing the cream cheese frosting. Flax seeds also make a nice addition to the batter. It is delicious no matter how you slice it (or make it)!
Image: John-Morgan on Flickr under a Creative Commons license
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No need for vegans to avoid the frosting!
Just use Tofutti’s Cream Cheese (make sure to get the non-hydrogenated stuff in the yellow container). With that, along with egg replacer as you suggest, your little ones can enjoy a cholesterol-free and much lower in saturated fat treat!
Thanks for the vegan tip Ryan! I wondered about that when writing the recipe if it would work. I’ve only tried the tofutti cream cheese once.
That sounds delicious. Thanks for the recipe. I am big flax seed person too. I add it to almost all my baked goods.
This recipe looks great! I, too, am searching for a recipe like this one for my twins 1st birthday.:)
Question though…can the sugar be replaced with unsweetened applesauce? I’d really like to try avoiding sugar altogether.
Thanks!
I’ve never tried that replacement Kristen, but it might work. You may need to lessen some liquid to compensate for the substitution.