Growing up carrot cake was not something that appealed to me. It wasn’t until my thirties that I actually gave carrot cake a chance. Once I did, I was sold. Carrot cake is moist, delicious, and touched with spice. Topping it with cream cheese frosting is definitely a bonus. However, carrot cake can be just as fattening as chocolate or any other cake, unless you make a few adjustments to the ingredients. This frosted cake comes out to 250 calories per slice with only 4.8 grams of fat. You could make the slices smaller of course, but this is a generous piece and a not so guilty pleasure.
I don’t remember how I originally stumbled across this recipe, though I think it was on Pinterest. I read the comments and saw that several people complained about the frosting being too runny. I also noticed that she used marshmallow creme in the frosting, so I decided to use my own frosting recipe instead. I also found it a bit baffling that she said in response to one of the comments to reduce the amount of water in the frosting, yet the frosting instructions didn’t include water. So I just winged it.
I didn’t make any real changes to the carrot cake itself, though next time I might try subbing in some wheat flour for part of the white flour to see how it is. And yes, there will be a next time, it was quite good. :)
I have actually tallied the nutritional information as well. The total for a slice of this cake is included in the recipe below. The individual labels are above, in case you prefer to eat this without frosting.
Also, if you want to make your slices smaller, simply multiply the individual nutritional elements below by 16, then divide it by the number of slices that you cut to get an accurate analysis. :)
This carrot cake recipe freezes very well also. Place the individual pieces onto a wax paper lined cookie sheet, be careful that they are not touching each other. Freeze for 5-6 hours or overnight. Remove from the freezer and have some squares of freezer paper handy. Place a slice of cake, frosting side down, onto the freezer paper. Wrap the piece of cake and put back on the cookie sheet (just temporary). Continue until all pieces are wrapped. Place wrapped pieces inside zipper freezer bags. When you want one, just take it out and unwrap right away, place on a plate and let it thaw out. I actually take mine out in the morning, place it in a tupperware container with a lid, and by the time I’m ready to eat it it’s nice and moist and ready to eat. :)
Enjoy!
Low Fat Carrot Cake
IMPORTANT - There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup egg substitute
- 2 egg whites
- 21/2 cups shredded carrots about 3-4 large
- ½ cup applesauce
- â…“ cup canola oil
- ½ cup golden raisins
- 3 tbsp water
Frosting
- 8- oz package fat free cream cheese softened
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Before You Begin
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a 13×9 baking pan with non-fat cooking spray.
- Combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Whisk the egg substitute and egg whites in a large bowl. Add the carrots, applesauce, oil, raisins, and water stirring until blended.
- Using a sturdy rubber spatula, add the flour mixture to the carrot mixture, and stir until blended. Spread the batter evenly in the pan. Bake until the cake is nicely browned and the edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan, approx 35-37 minutes.
- Place pan on wire rack and cool completely before frosting.
- For the Frosting
- While the cake is baking, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Reduce speed to low and beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until smooth. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- When ready to frost the cake, remove the icing from the refrigerator and stir. Spread over top of cake. Cut cake into 16 equal pieces.
Amanda Davis
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Desirae F says
This looks delicious!! Can you please tell me what the calorie count is with the 2 eggs instead of the egg substitute? Thank you!
Amanda Formaro says
Based off of 16 servings:
2 eggs = 9 calories
1/2 cup egg substitute = 3.6 calories
Hope that helps!
Desirae F says
Thank you!!!
Wendy says
This carrot cake is amazing! Thanks so much for this delicious and good-for-you recipe. :)
Amanda says
Thanks so much Wendy!
cookingrookie says
I would give this recipe 6 stars :-). This was my SRC assignment for this month! Lucky me :-). Such a wonderful, moist, flavorful and refreshing cake! And low fat (especially for me, because I skipped the frosting).
I have to say though that having your blog as an assignment is really hard: there are just too many choices and whatever you pick, you are missing out on other things. So I guess I’ll just have to come back and make your recipes outside of the SRC framework ;-). Thanks, Amanda, you have a beautiful blog!
p.s. And I am so happy that you joined RecipeNewZ :-)
Ellen Tinder says
how much higher is the calorie and fat count with 2 whole eggs in place of the egg substitute?
Laurie says
Amanda…
This looks great. I love the addition of the nutritional information. I look forward to trying the cake!
Laurie
Katherine Martinelli says
Yum! Yes, carrot cake wasn’t something I appreciated until I was older either. But now I love it! I’ll have to try this – your frosting sounds much better than the original you described!
Somerset wedding gal says
Thank you so much for this, if low-fat recipes like yours didn’t exist I think I’d be twice as big! Love carrot cake.
Avril says
Such a lovely Carrot Cake Amanda!!! A low-fat version is ALWAYS good to have…especially if it tastes just as good as a regular CC cake :-)
Veronica says
Great job, it looks so nice and moist! mmm, I love carrot cake!
Food Frenzy says
This is a fantastic carrot cake.
We invite you to share this post and your other food posts on Food Frenzy.
Rhonda says
I’m not much of sweet eater, but carrot cake has always been favorite of mine. Thanks for sharing a healthier version,
Christine Sim says
hi, amanda! we don’t have egg substitute here in the Philippines. can i use an egg instead? =)
thanks for this wonderful recipe!
christine
Amanda Formaro says
Hi Christine! Yes, sub in two eggs for the 1/2 cup of egg substitute. It will raise the calorie and fat count a bit though. If you need those calculations let me know :)
Angie @ Bigbearswife says
I love the fact that you broke down the calories (and the rest of the nutritional information)
Delishhh says
LOVE LOVE carrot cake and if this is low fat – i have to put it on my to do list :)
Katrina says
One of my favorites–carrot cake! I made a low fat one a few years ago that was really good (It was adapted from Ellie Kreiger.) I used all whole wheat pastry flour. You’d never know.
http://www.bakingandboys.com/2008/11/divine-carrot-cake-with-cream-cheese.html
Lana @ Never Enough Thyme says
I love carrot cake! It has that never-fail combination of spices that just hits all the right triggers for me. Then top it with a cream cheese frosting and you have a perfect treat. I especially love that you’ve kept it low-fat but still very moist. Great recipe, Amanda!
Fallon says
That looks great. I would never think of it being low fat but at least that is a plus!